


Spot Conlon, MD

by orphan_account



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - House M.D. Fusion, Artist Jack Kelly, Character Death, Hospitals, Italian Racetrack Higgins, Jewish David Jacobs, Multi, Neurology & Neuroscience, Slow Burn, Spot Conlon is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24997435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Spot Conlon, Head of Diagnostic Medicine at New York National Hospital is an addict that solves cases as a high and he has a team of the best doctors in New York.
Relationships: Albert DaSilva/Elmer (Newsies), David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Finch (Newsies)/Bill Hearst, Kid Blink/Mush Meyers, Romeo/Specs (Newsies), Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Spot Conlon & Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. A Teacher's Decline

Spot Conlon noticed that David Jacobs was rushing towards the elevator, he was too proper to actually run in front of his employees. Spot pressed the down button twice but David slipped into the elevator before the doors could close.

"We had an appointment in my office twenty minutes ago."

Spot leaned more on his cane as he replied without waiting. "I had absolutely no intention to appear in your office twenty minutes ago. I don't know why you would expect that I would."

"We have a lot to talk about." David replied as he watched Spot closely with narrowed eyes.

"I am not denying that but anything that you want to talk about is not interesting to me."

"Do remember that I sign your paychecks."

"And I have tenure." Spot moved to walked put of the elevator as it arrived on the ground floor. "Are you going to grab my cane? Will you stop me from leaving the hospital?"

"Now that would be juvenile, something that I won't do." David walked out of the elevator before he continued. "I can still fire you as if I think you aren't doing your job."

"As I remember I am here from 9 to 5." Spot knew that he was as Katherine wouldn't let him leave any earlier unless it was to actually do with work.

"But your billings are practically nonexistent."

"Bit of a rough year. Had to hire more people for my team, it was quite tiring to be truthful."

David raised an eyebrow, the order to to extend Spot's team didn't come from him but from the Chairman of the hospital who thought that it was a good idea for it to be extended. "But you ignore requests for consultations!"

"I misdial a lot." Spot did actually misdial a lot as he couldn't be bothered to do the consultations most days. "Sometimes, I actually answer the phone but most times it is a wrong number."

"What about your six years of missed clinic duty?" David almost smirked, Spot hadn't done any clinic duty for six long years. Even Katherine did more clinc duty then him and she was the one who went along with his plans.

"Doesn't interest me!" Spot called as he hobbled towards the doors that led into the streets. "Don't you have a husband for things like this?"

"You owe me over four months of clinic duty."

Spot turned around and pointed at the clock on the receptionist's desk. "It is five o'clock. I'm going home now."

"To what?"

"Touché."

David let the smile grace his face this time and he said with pride in his voice. "The only reason I don't fire you is because of your reputation is still worth something to this hospital. And I prefer to not be fired by the Chairman as he still wants you to work for this hospital."

Spot groaned, Bill Hearst was the man that basically ran the hospital and he wanted doctors that had good reputations working for the hospital. "Now we have an agreement, you won't fire me."

"Your reputation won't last if you don't conduct your clinic duty. Then the Chairman will stop protecting you then you will be fired."

"You can't always get what you want." Spot walked out of the hospital before David could say anything else and he had a large smirk on his face.

* * *

Albert DaSilva pushed the wheelchair that had their patient in it. The patient asked. "Are you Dr. Conlon?"

"Thankfully no, Miss. Cooper. I'm Dr. DaSilva." Albert didn't even know why someone would like Spot to be their doctor considering he was a pain in the ass.

"Dr. Conlon is the Head of Diagnostic Medicine," Romeo began as he walked next to Albert with a clipboard. "He is busy at the moment but has taken a personal interest in your case."

Albert pushed the wheelchair into the MRI room where they put Miss. Cooper on the machine as Racetrack Higgins appeared with a syringe in his hand. "Now, we are going to inject gandolinium into a vein. It will distribute itself throughout your brain and it acts as a contrast material for the magnetic resonance imagery."

"Basically, whatever is causing you to speak gibberish will light up in your head like fireworks." Romeo cut in with a pointed look at the young doctor. He still didn't understand why Spot favoured the young doctor more than any other on the team.

"Dr. Higgins." A man called as he entered the room to the severe glare of the three doctors. "I am afraid that you will not be able to do this."

"Why not?" Race demanded as he placed the syringe down on a table. He knew that Spot and David were fighting but he wondered why they couldn't do this. "I'll get Dr. Plumber in here if she needs to be here."

"Dr. Conlon's authorisation has been revoked by Dr. Jacobs." Romeo winced, Spot was going to be furious when he found out and that probably meant a lot of shouting.

* * *

"You revoked my authorisation!" Spot roared as he stormed into David's office, the other doctor didn't look fazed at all.

"Is that meant to scare me."

"No MRIs, no imaging studies and no labs-"

David commented sarcastically. "That also means that you can't use your office computer for dating. And you are still yelling."

"I am angry! If you want to fire me then have the guts to do it."

"Or surgeries. And I am still not scared, I married an artist who played basketball in high school."

"You are risking a patient's life and I'd prefer that you don't mention your husband now!"

"I assume that your furiousness and you caring about your patient's life are two separate things." David still hadn't looked up from the paperwork that was in his desk. He knew that Spot would fold in a few more minutes.

"You embarrassed me! How am I meant to do my job without being able to conduct MRIs?" Spot knew what game David was playing and he wouldn't fold that easily.

David stood from his desk finally and walked to the windowsill that was behind his desk. "The yelling still doesn't scare me. If you decided to punch me, I would be scared but then I would have grounds to fire you which you don't want."

"So you aren't letting me treat my patients because you want me to treat patients." Spit raised an eyebrow as he removed a bottle of pills from his pocket and swallowed two.

"You will do your job." David wouldn't back down and he knew that Spot would fold in a matter of minutes.

"Fine! Fine! I will do it!" Spot shouted before he stormed out of David's office leaving his boss standing there with a smile on his face.

Albert, Race, Romeo and Katherine were all standing outside the office, they were obviously waiting for him to come out of the office. "He folded. Do the MRI." Race nodded before he dragged the other two off to follow the orders. "I now have to do four hours a week in the clinic now! Things I do for patients!"

Katherine giggled as she watched Spot storm away, slamming his cane on the floor with more force then was necessary for him.

* * *

Race had thought it best that they Neurologist in for the MRI so Blink had been fetched by Romeo and was now watching the procedure from a computer in a room the was covered by glass.

"You may feel a little claustrophobic but it will be fine." Romeo reassured before he went to stand next to Albert. "Just stay still."

"Right we will begin." Blink said before he pressed the button that would start the procedure. They were silent until he couldn't hear a sound coming from the patient. "Marion? Marion? Get her put of there."

"She's fine." Race waved it off. "She is probably asleep as she was exhausted."

"She isn't sleeping." Blink said with confidence as he started to exit the glass room. "If she is having an allergic reaction to gandolinium then she'll be dead in a minute." He pressed a few buttons and the patient reappeared next to them. "Hold her neck."

Albert followed the instructions as Blink put his ear close to the woman's nose. "She isn't breathing. Epi point five."

Romeo grabbed a ventilator and tried to press air into the woman's mouth. "Isn't working. And she is ashen."

Blink used used a piece of equipment to look down her throat before saying in a panicked voice. "Too much edema. Get the surgical airway kit!"

"Coming!" Race called back as he gathered the kit and then ran towards Miss. Cooper as Romeo injected something into her. Race pulled on a pair of gloves and then began to slowly cut her throat open with a scalpel.

He focused on precision and made a big enough space for a ventilator to be placed on her throat. Romeo and Albert worked quickly to place it on her throat as Blink let out a breath.

* * *

Mush finished checking her over as Albert said with a steady tone. "We will get that tube put of your throat as soon as possible."

"Just get some rest." Race added before the four exited the room to see Spot leaning against the wall, it seemed that he had been waiting for them.

"Can't trust people can you?" Spot asked rhetorically before he led the four down the corridor.

"So she knew that she was allergic to gandolinium and decided that was the best way to get someone to cut a hole in her throat?" Mush did wonder what went through Spot's mind but he didn't want to question it.

"Exactly. You, Albert have to get a thousand words."

Albert was surprised normally Spot was the one to speak the to the patients not him. "You actually want me to speak to the patient?"

"We need to know if there is some genetic or environmental causes for her illness." Spot shrugged as he hobbled down the corridor, he knew that David was expecting him for clinic duty and he couldn't back out now.

"You said everybody lied." Albert countered quickly as he remembered that Spot had said that a few months ago.

"I also said that truth begins in lies." Spot had to make sure he got the last word in and he hobbled away before Albert could say anything else.

He made his way down to the clinic, only stopping to grab a few files and when he arrived he announced. "Dr. Conlon signing in at 12:45 PM. Is there any chocolate around here? General hospital starts soon and I need some."

"No need." David said as he stopped next to Spot with an open file in his hands. "I have made sure that your first patient is interesting."

"Depends on how interesting."

"Patient was admitted with complaints of back spasms."

Spot groaned as he slapped a hand to his forehead. "We will have to get Blink in! I think that he has brain cancer."

"The patient is orange." David deadpanned as he looked at Spot, he knew that Spot would enjoy this one.

"Orange? As in the colour?" Spot was already thinking that the patient had carotenosis as that could turn the skin orange.

"No the fruit." David would have to actually see if that was possible, perhaps he could get a patient like that for Spot's birthday.

"Yellow. An orange is jaundice." Spot still wanted to see the patient if they were an orange.

"I mean orange."

"How orange?"

"Exam room 1."

Spot started to make his way to the exam room without saying anything as he didn't want to say thank you to David. He entered the room and took a seat before he gestured for the orange man to begin speaking.

"I was playing golf and my chest got stuck. It hurt a bit but I didn't really notice until the next day when I could barely stand." The orange man noticed that Spot was smiling so he continued. "It must be fine if you are smiling."

Spot took out his pill bottle and swallowed two more and he heard the man distinctly ask what they were. "Painkillers."

"For your leg?" Orange man asked with a smile.

"No. 'Cause they are delicious, you want one?" The man shook his head. "Your loss. You do have a problem though, your wife is cheating."

"What?"

"You are orange, you idiot! It is surprising that you haven't noticed but if your wife hasn't picked up on the fact that you have changed colour then she just isn't paying attention anymore. Do you eat a large amount of carrots and mega-dose vitamins?" Orange man nodded. "The carrots turn you yellow and the niacin turns you red. Get some finger paints and work out that you have carotenosis. Get a good lawyer because you will need them."

Spot walked out the room and glared at David, who just waved and smiled. He made his way into the next room where a mother and her son were sat, Spot just hoped that this one wouldn't be stupid.

Everything was going fine until Spot put a stethoscope to the boy's back. "Deep breath."

"It's cold." The boy complained as Spot continued with his examination.

"He been using his inhaler?"

The mother shook her head and replied. "Not for the past few days. As he is only ten, It seems a bit strong for him."

"What happened to your leg?" The boy asked as Spot made his way to an empty chair with his cane. They boy started to wheeze, a little which Spot caught onto immediately.

"Your pediatrician was probably concerned as well about the strength of the medicine. They probably weighed that danger against the probability of breathing. Oxygen is important during prepubescent years. I an going to assume that nobody has told you about asthma but if they had, you probably had other things on your mind. A stimulant triggers cells in your child's airways to release substances to inflame the air passages and cause them to contract. Mucus production increases, cell-lining starts to shed. But the steroids-the steroids..." Spot trailed off as he stood up and exited the room.

"What? What?"

"If you don't trust steroids then don't trust doctors. They have enough on their plates without you bothering them." Spot answered before he made his way back up to Miss. Cooper's room and pulled out his pager. He sent a message to Romeo who was in the room.

Romeo, Blink and Mush appeared outside the room, seconds later with curious expressions. "Steroids. Give her steroids and high doses of prednisone."

"You are looking for something to support a diagnosis of cerebral vasculitus." Blink commented, he still didn't see anything to support that diagnosis.

"Inflammation of blood vessels in the brain is very rare." Mush explained calmly, he knew that he had to explain to his coworkers as it was unlikely she had cerebral vasculitus. "Especially for her age."

"So is a tumour." Spot replied pointedly with a glare to Mush. "Her SED rate was elevated."

"Mildly." Romeo was staying out of this debate, matters of the mind weren't his strong suit.

"Could mean anything, or nothing."

Spot raised a hand as if it was obvious. "I have no reason to think that it is vasculitus except it could be." He took out his bottle of pills and swallowed one again. "If the blood vessels are inflamed then it is going to look exactly like what we saw on the MRI from Trenton County. Then the pressure is going to cause neurological symptoms."

"That isn't enough to diagnosis her with vasculitus." Romeo discared his neutrality to a calculated gaze from Spot. "And you need a biopsy."

"We can treat it. And os she let's better then we know that we are right."

Blink demanded as he looked at Mush and Romeo for support. "And if we are wrong?"

"Then we learn something new." Spot growled before moving off to get back down to the clinic.

* * *

"Why steroids?" Miss Cooper asked as Race was looking over her.

"Just part of your treatment. I see that you haven't had many visitors. No partner?"

"Three dates."

Race was surprised but he changed the subject away from partners. "What about work? You must have friends from there."

"Everyone I like if five years old. A nurse said that you are stopping my radiation."

"Dr. Conlon wanted to test some different treatment for your condition." Race explained as he finished looking over her. "Where is your family then?"

"Steroids aren't an alternative to radiation."

Race was now getting annoyed at the woman, he knew that she was worried but it was getting a bit annoying. "The tests weren't really conclusive."

"We believe that you might have vasculitus so we are treating you for that." Romeo announced as he entered the room with a file in his hand.

"I don't have a tumour?"

"No." Romeo shook his head before he looked at Race who was glaring at him. "Dr. Higgins, we should talk outside."

"We should." Race agreed before he dragged Romeo out into the corridor. "You should have told her the truth. It is a guess without that much proof."

"If Spot is right then there is no harm done and if he is wrong then a dying woman has hope."

"False hope." Race countered quickly.

"Better then none." Romeo left Race standing in the corridor by himself.

* * *

Specs still wasn't sure why Albert had dragged him along to the school as he didn't really have that much experience with matters like these. Albert was sniffing the carpet for some reason which Specs guessed that it would give a ground breaking clue to the case.

"Why are you smelling Max's pants?" A girl asked as she approached Specs and Albert.

"I'm not." Albert defended himself as he sat on his knees and looked at Specs, who ignored his look.

"Looked like you were."

"I was smelling the floor." Albert thought for a minute before inquiring. "Do you have any pets in the class?"

"We used to have a fish but Lara ate it last week." The girl explained which made Specs wonder why children so stupid. He knew that he wasn't that stupid when he was a child or maybe he was and he just didn't remember.

"Weird." Albert whispered as he shared a look with Specs.

"Do you need to smell her?"

"No. I'm smelling for mold and I don't need to smell her."

"Do you want to smell our parrot?"

Albert wanted to slam his head against the wall as he couldn't believe how clueless these children were. "You said there were no pets."

"Birds don't count as pets, silly." Specs definitely hated children now and he probably would never want to adopt one either.

* * *

"Parrots are the primary source of psitticosis." Albert explained as he watched Spot fill his mouth with pancakes covered with syrup.

"Not the parrot." Spot said around his mouthful of pancakes as he stared at Albert like it was obvious.

"Psitticosis causes nerve problems and neurological complications."

"How many kids were there?" Spot needed to show Albert why he was wrong.

"20."

"How many were off?"

"None, but-"

"Not the parrot." Albert stared at his boss as Spot took as sip of tea. "Do you really think that 5 year olds are more serious about burden hygiene then their teacher? Have you been through her home?"

"I will go by tomorrow with Romeo. She lives in Trenton. I just need to ask her for her key."

"The police don't call for permission to see a crime scene, do they?" Spot asked rhetorically as he finished his pancakes.

"But this isn't a crime scene." Albert protested, he didn't think that it was completely legal for him to break into someone else's home by orders from his boss.

"As far as we know she could be running a meth lab out of her basement." Spot just had to wait to reveal his ace and then Albert would go along with what he wanted.

Albert replied trying to not be that loud so people wouldn't focus their attention on them. "She is a kindergarten teacher!"

"And if I was her student I would trust her without a doubt." Spot growled back, he wondered how long it would take Albert to understand. "I want you to check the patient's houe se for medication, contaminants, garbage-"

"I can't just break into someone's house!" Albert was getting frustrated now because Spot just couldn't see that he was being asked to break the law.

"Didn't you just break into the Peters' house when you were in high school?" Albert looked shocked and Spot just continued without a touch of sympathy. "I know, sealed records and that you were 16 but I hired you because I needed someone with street smarts and you are that person."

"I should sue you but I will do it." Albert stood from his chair and left the cafeteria before Spot could say anything else.

* * *

David stormed into the exam room to see that Spot was sat on a set of drawers with a magazine that had a shirtless man on the front. Spot said without looking up. "People are fascinating."

"Why are you giving Cooper steroids?" David demanded, he didn't like patients being given treatments that they didn't need.

"You give patients medicine. You understand that don't you?" Spot really hooked that this conversation wasn't going in the direction he thought it was.

"We don't prescribe medicine based on guesses. At least we haven't since Tuskeegee and Mengle." David winced when he said the last name as his grandparents hadn't spoken that well of him.

"I'm being compared to a Nazi? I would have preferred Roosevelt but you take compliments where you can." Spot shrugged he really didn't care that he had been called a Nazi as he knew he wasn't.

"I am stopping the treatment."

Spot closed the magazine and set down on the drawers before standing up. "She is my patient."

"This is my hospital."

"I thought it was Hearst's." David was silent as he didn't expect that sentence to come from him, Spot just raised a hand and continued. "I have a legitimate theory about what is wrong with her."

The two started to walk out of the clinic and down a corridor as David replied quickly. "With next to no proof."

"There is never no proof. She went to see five different doctors and they gave her five different diagnoses based on the same evidence." Spot slammed his cane into the floor to make a point.

David ignored the slam of the cane with a stern look at Spot. "You don't have any evidence and nnobody knows anything? Why do you think that you are always right?"

"I find it hard to agree with the opposite assumption." Spot said it as it was the truth he didn't always think he was right, he just found it hard to agree. "Why don't you want to make a mistake?"

"We are doctors, if we make mistakes then someone dies." David walked off up the stairs after finding out the elevator would take to long to arrive.

Spot tried to climb up the stairs but couldn't so he called after his boss. "People used to have a lot of respect for cripples!" He turned to walk towards the elevator and saw a man in a wheelchair. "They didn't really."

Spot used the elevator to get to the floor where his patient was and waited for David to finish speaking to her. "Should I discontinue the steroids then?"

"You got lucky."

Spot grinned cockily. "Thank you, sir."

* * *

"Nothing." Albert explained as Spot looked at him as he leaned on his cane. "Nothing in the house."

"No toxins? No medication?" Katherien inquired as she looked up from Miss Cooper's file.

"Nothing that could explain these symptoms."

"No family history of neurological complications?"

"I couldn't really tell from her underwear drawer." Albert knew it was a low blow but he had just spent two hours searching through a house that didn't even belong to him.

"You said nothing would explain these symptoms. What about something that doesn't explain these symptoms?" Spot asked as he looked between Albert and Katherine. Blink, Race, Romeo, Mush and Specs were all listening to the conversation.

"Dr. Plumber had you treat this patient under false circumstances. Cooper is not her cousin through marriage." Albert looked surprised that Spot didn't start shouting, he just stared at Katherine.

"That is completely ridiculous. Can we just get back to-" Katherine was cut off by Albert.

"She is not Jewish!"

"Mary Cooper isn't Jewish?" Katherine was surprised, she was sure that Miss Cooper was Jewish.

"I found ham at her apartment!"

"Dr. DaSilva, a lot of Jewish people have non-Jewish relatives. And they don't always keep kosher food. I can see getting through high school without learning about the Jews, but medical school..." She just shook her head.

"You don't know her name! It isn't Mary it is Marion!"

"Yes it is Marion I just call her Mary."

Spot had a glazed look on his before he cried. "You moron!"

"Listen-"

"Not you-him!" Spot pointed at Albert, who looked hurt. "You said you didn't find anything."

"I didn't though-"

"You found ham!"

"Yes?" Albert was now confused, this wasn't the first time that Spot had went off on a tangent like this.

"Ham! Where there is ham there is pork, where there's pork there is neurocysticercosis."

"Tapeworm? You think she had a tapeworm in her brain?" Race bursts out when he understood what the condition was.

"I never thought about it but it fits. Could have been living there for years-"

"Millions of people eat ham every day though." Romeo pointed out with scepticism in his voice. "They don't have tapeworm in their brains."

"You, Mr. Neurologist. What happens when steroids are given to someone with tapeworm?"

Blink stepped forward to answer with a look of drawing comprehension. "They get better then they get worse. It fits, Dr. Plumber saw her get worse when we though she was better."

Spot pulled a book from his shelf and opened it to the page on tapeworm. "If you don't cook pork correctly or well enough then you ingest live tapeworm larvae. They have these little hooks that grab onto your bowel, they live, they grow up and they reproduce."

"Reproduce?" Mush questioned he had looked at Miss Cooper and it was unlikely that it could reproduce. "They only have one lesion and it is nowhere near her bowel."

"That is because this isn't a typical case. It is possible for tapeworm to produce 20 to 30,000 eggs a day. Guess where they go."

"Out." Albert realised that Spot was right, it was a tapeworm and they hadn't realised.

"Not all of them. Unlike the larvae, the egg can pass through the walls of the intestines and into the blood stream. Where does the blood stream go?"

Katherine whispered in horror as she realised the magnitude of the situation. "Everywhere."

"As long as it is healthy then the immune system doesn't even know it is there. The worm builds a wall, uses secretions to shut down the body's immune response and control fluid flow."

"As long as it it healthy? Do we nurse it back to health or something?" Mush asked as hand and Romeo shared a disbelieving look.

"It is too late for that. It's dying and it dies, this parasite loses the ability to control the host's defences. The immune system wakes up and attacks the tapeworm with everything it has. Everything starts to swell and that is extremely bad for the brain." Spot was stupid to not have realised it before, everything added up as he now thought about it.

"It could still be a hundred other things. The eosinophil count is still low." Katherine pointed out to a glare from Spot, who had started to pace around his office.

"It is only abnormal in 30% of cases." Race disagreed with the other doctor, he had studied tapeworms and knew that didn't stop it from being one.

"Proving nothing."

Before anyone could say anything else, Spot cut in. "You don't see. It fits perfectly! It also explains everything."

"But it proves nothing." Katherine had a very hard time believing that it was a tapeworm as she was sure that they would have noticed before.

"I can prove it by treating her and removing the tapeworm."

"You can't. I was just in her room, she doesn't want anymore experiments or tests. She just wants to go home and die." Katherine was taken aback at the expression on Spot's face.

* * *

Spot hobbled into Miss Cooper's room and asked the nurse quietly. "Can you leave us?" She did and Spot turned to the patient. "I am Dr. Conlon."

"Pleasure to meet you." Miss Cooper was happy to finally meet the doctor who had taken an interest in her case.

"You are an idiot." Spot coughed loudly before he continued. "You have a tapeworm in your brain and if we leave it there any longer then your body will swell and explode." Being blunt and over dramatic always worked on patients.

"Have you seen the worm?"

"When you are all better, I will show it to you with my diplomas."

"You were sure that I had vasculitus but now I am wearing a diaper. What is the treatment going to do?"

Spot tried to not let his frustration show. "I am talking about a cure, not a treatment. But I might be wrong and if I am wrong then you will die."

"What made you a cripple?" Miss Cooper wondered why Spot was using a cane and was walking with a limp.

"I had an infarction."

"Is that a heart attack?"

"It is what happens when the blood flow is obstructed. It is only a heart attack if it is in the heart."

"Wasn't there something they could do?"

Spot knew he could play at this angle to persuade her that the treatment was good. "There was plenty, if they were capable. But they didn't make the right diagnosis and for that I paid the price."

"Did you hope you were dying?"

"Yes. I hoped I was dying." Spot wondered where she was going with this and hoped it didn't get to personal.

"You refuse to see patients because you are afraid of how they look. You feel cheated by life so you want yo cheat the world. What makes you do that?"

"When you are scared, I can guarantee that you will turn into me."

"I want to die with dignity."

"There is no such thing! Our bodies can break down when we are 90, sometimes before we are even born! It always happens and there is no dignity in it. You can live with dignity but we can't die with it." Spot made his way out to the hallway where his team was waiting for him. "No treatment."

"We could get a court order. Override her wishes and claim that she doesn't have the mental capacity to make these decisions." Albert suggested first before anyone could say anything else.

"She does."

"We could claim that the illness makes her unfit to make those decisions." Romeo added to Albert's suggestion.

"Pretty common result." Race corroborated with a nod.

"That won't happen." Spot growled.

Katherine just sighed. "He respects her, he won't do it."

"So you respect her and that makes you feel that it is right to let her die?'

"I solved the case, Albert. My work is done."

Blink snapped his fingers together that made everyone look at him. "I have an idea to prove it is a worm. It is noninvasive but it is safe, I am not completely sure but-"

"What?" Spot demanded as he turned around with a weird look on his face.

"Have you seen a worm under an X-ray, a regular no contrast 100-year-old technology X-ray? They light up like a shotgun pellet. Like on a contrast MRI."

"Which is the same as a CT scan. And we have already tried that." Mush ran a hand through his hair as he replied.

"Worm cysts are the same density as cerebrospinal fluid, we are not going to see anything in her head. But I agree with Blink, we should X-ray her but not her head. X-ray her muscles, arms, legs. Because if she had one in her head then she has one in her leg."

* * *

"This is the worm larvae." Race pointed at the X-ray of her leg.

"So if it is in my leg, it's in my brain?" Miss Cooper asked quietly as she stared at the X-ray.

"Are you looking for a guarantee? At my guess then it has been there for six to ten years." 

"Could I have more?"

"Probably. It is good news though, very good news."

"Now we get you better. Albendazole." Race handed her a cup with two pills in it.

"Two pills?"

"Yeah, every day for at least a month with a meal." Rave explained as she took the cup.

"Two pills." Miss Cooper repeated clearly.

"Possible side effects include abdominal pain, nausea, headache dizziness, fever and hair loss. Even if you get rid of every one you will still probably have to take the." 

Race just knew that Spot was going to be more unbearable than ever for the rest of the day. He just hoped that Elmer returned from his holiday to Egypt with JoJo soon enough.


	2. The Son's Truth

Katherine opened the exam room door to see that Spot was sat on the table, reading through a magazine when he was meant to be seeing patients. "What are you doing?"

"Close the door or go back outside!" Spot replied as he closed the magazine with a glare towards his friend.

"Is David counting to 500 before he comes in?" Katherine knew that it had happened once before and that had led to Spot shouting and storming out of the clinic.

"He knows that I am here but he doesn't know that I am alone." Spot really didn't want to see David for the rest of the day or there would be an argument.

"You have a full waiting room. How won't he notice that?" Katherine was really wondering how Spot wouldn't have thought about that.

Spot checked his watch before answering. "I get off at four."

"You are doing this to avoid five minutes of work?"

"No." Spot shook his head quickly. "Jacobs wants to invite me to dinner with him and Kelly. I really don't want to go because if I do then I would have to be held legally responsible for my actions."

Katherine really didn't want to know what he meant by that so she suggested. "Then take one of your doctors with you. Or tell David that you have an urgent case that needs your full attention.'

"That would be lying." Spot knew it was hypocritical as he told his employees to lie all the time. "And no I won't subject one of the fellows to that hell."

Katherine looked shocked that Spot had no cases at all. "You have no cases? You have got handpicked experts, doctors and specialists working for you and you have no case? Are they sitting on their hands?"

"Albert and Mush are answering my mail." Spot pointed out with a calm face.

"And the others?"

"Research?" Spot was just thankful that Elmer and JoJo had returned from Egypt as they were his most favourite fellows. But Race was his top employee and his third favourite fellow. "I'm going."

Spot left before Katherine could say anything else and made his way to the receptionist where he announced cheerfully. "4:02 PM, Dr. Conlon checks out. Now I am done for the day!"

"Excuse me, Dr. Conlon." A brown haired man approached Spot with a worried look.

"Done for the day. Dr. Plumber can help you should it be necessary."

"We had an appointment."

Spot had a feeling that he knew who had done this but he just replied. "Nice try! I recall that this is a walk-in clinic and we don't do appointments here."

"Your letter says otherwise."

Spot's suspicions were confirmed, it was either Albert or Mush that had done this. "Not a fan of writing letters. I prefer e-mail." The man passed him the letter which Spot took with a glare.

* * *

"When did my signature get so childish?" Spot asked as he stared at Mush, who wasn't reacting at all.

"That can be explained."

"See the 'S', I can barely read it and I have always been able to read my handwriting. I think I might need to diagnose myself with childish handwriting from kindergarten."

"They called-"

Spot sighed as he and Mush stared at each other. "Perseverance does not equal worthiness. When you want to get my attention blow up a building or something like that."

"17 year old male, sudden onset of double vision and night terrors. No apparent cause and the boy's been to two different Neurologists-" Mush's explanation was cut off.

"You mean night terrors as in gargantuan, hideous creatures that are like Medusa?"

"Yeah." Spot stood suddenly and grabbed his cane before he started hobbling to the door. "Where are you going?"

"To see the boy." Spot said it as if it was obvious information.

"You are going to examine him?" Mush was confused, Spot never examined patients.

"No I'm going to kill him. Night terrors in a seventeen year old is very interesting so I am going to examine him."

Spot made his way to the exam room and before the parents could say anything, he started to examine the boy's eyes. After a few seconds he said. "No lesion, margins look good and so does the colour. How long has he been having night terrors?"

"Three weeks." The boy answered when Spot had stepped away.

"He can barely function and he is exhausted all the time." Spot flicked his fingers at both of the boy's eyes which made him blink.

"What does that tell you?"

Spot just stared at the mother before replying. "It is fun to just watch him blink." He turned to the boy. "Name as many animals as you can that begin with the letter L."

"Little bird."

"A good answer. 'L' is the lion of letters." Spot really couldn't believe that no one had got the animal that he had just give them. "That proves two things. No neurological complications and your son is definitely not going to become a zoologist. Two causes for night terrors are post-traumatic stress, any shootouts at your school recently?"

"No." The boy looked like he couldn't believe that Spot had asked him that.

"Well then, Mick-"

Romeo interrupted as he entered the room and stood next to Spot. "Mark."

"If there is no trauma then the other cause is sexual abuse." Spot explained as he swallowed two pills. "So who has been doing the molestation? Extra friendly teacher? Neighbour? I would ask if it was one of you two but you would deny it."

"We would never hurt Mark." The dad said which made Spot look at Romeo, who just chuckled.

"I say there, it comes out here. This lack of response is consistent with abuse."

"No one." Mark stated firmly to which Spot raised an eyebrow. "I was hit in the head when playing rugby."

"Did you know he was hit in the head?" Romeo shook his head, he didn't understand why the parents hadn't mentioned anything like that. "Why bother? It is unlikely that it would actually mean anything."

Spot limped out of the room with the four following behind him. The dad explained. "We took him to the ER after the game and he was fine. They said he was fine and he had no concussion."

"You hound me for an opinion and then question my diagnosis. ER screwed up, the kid's got a concussion." Spot looked at Romeo as if to say 'this wasn't worth his time'.

"I had double vision before I was hit in the head." Mark explained as they continued to walk through the hallways.

"You need glasses, that is why you have double vision." Spot was regretting to examine the patient by himself now. "That is why you got hit and got a concussion. That is why you have night terrors so you need an ophthalmologist, which I am not."

Spot and Romeo walked away before the family could pester them any more. Romeo said when they were walking towards the staircase. "You enjoyed that didn't you? I brought this case to Mush and you wanted to humiliate me."

"You're an only child, aren't you?" Spot asked which made Romeo stare at him with confusion.

"Why would you say that?"

"Everything is about you." Spot accused as he jabbed a finger at Romeo. "I know this may seem incredibly controversial but sexual abuse is horrible. I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't being diddled by daddy, or mommy."

Romeo replied as Spot turned back to the reception. "I am not an only child."

Spot walked back to the family as he watched Mark's leg spasm. He mururmered. "Interesting."

"What?" Romeo followed his boss as they approached the family again.

"Don't move." Spot pointed at Mark, who tried to follow the order. "Did I bore you in there?"

"No, not really."

"Are you tired?"

"Sometimes."

"He never sleeps, of course his is tired!" The dad shouted as he was annoyed with Spot's questions.

"Right now, at this very moment, are you tired?" Spot's mind was now whiring into motion as he observed the twitch.

"No."

"The twitch in your leg, did you feel that?"

"Didn't hurt."

"His leg twitched, I don't understand-" The dad was interrupted quickly by Spot.

"It's called a myoclonic jerk, it is very common when you are falling asleep. Your respiration rate falls and the brain interprets this as the body dying. So it sends a pulse to wake the body."

"So?"

Spot turned to Romeo and ordered. "He's awake, not asleep. Admit him now."

* * *

Albert was writing on the white board as Spot asked his fellows. "What does the jerk mean?"

"The brain's losing control of the body. Can't order the eyes to focus, regulate sleep patterns or control muscle movements." Blink explained as he read through Mark's file.

"A movement disorder or degenerative brain disease. Either way the kid's going be getting his diploma in a wheelchair with diapers." Spot replied as he stared at the board.

"Could be an infection." Elmer suggested from where he was sitting next to Race.

"You wish. No fever, no white count. Did you take an accurate family history?"

"Yeah. I took an accurate family history." Romeo answered quickly.

"No you didn't. His father isn't his father." Spot snapped back as he opened his pill bottle and swallowed two.

"What makes you say that?" Mush didn't know why Spot thought that the father wasn't the actual father.

"Around 30% of dads out there don't realise that they aren't raising their own kids."

"I thought false paternity was more like 10%" Blink was sure that he had read that in a medical journal only a few nights ago.

"That is what our moms want us to believe."

Romeo shrugged with a blank expression. "Who cares? If he had got it from his parents then they would both be dead."

"Seventy-five bucks says I'm right." Spot called to his fellows when Romeo had leaned back in his chair. He knew that the father wasn't the actual one, he could guarantee it.

Albert replied quickly before anyone could stop him. "I'll take it."

"Hit a nerve?" Spot smirked at Albert, whose ears had turned red. "Don't worry the man that tucked you into bed probably was your daddy."

"Make it one fifty then." Spot raised his eyebrows in approval which made Albert grin brightly.

"What about leukoencephalopathy?" Romeo suggested which made Blink shoot a look at him of confusion.

"It doesn't have to be that bad." Race began after seeing the staring from Blink. "If we exclude the night terrors then it could be his liver, kidneys, something outside of the brain."

"Feel free to exclude any symptoms if it makes your job easier." Spot snapped as he turned to glare at Race with a cool gaze.

"The night terrors were anecdotal. The could have just been a very bad dream." Race pressed his point as he didn't believe that the night terrors had anything to do with it.

"Parents said that he was conscious during the event and didn't remember anything. That is a night terror." Romeo disagreed he had talked with the parents after the patient was admitted and they had told him this.

Race raised an eyebrow and asked with clear scepticism. "Parents said?"

"Good point. Before we condemn the kid, we should entertain Dr. Higgins' scepticism. I want a detailed polysomnograph so I can see these night terrors."

Blink nodded before he pointed at Elmer and Romeo to follow him, which they did quickly.

* * *

"We did a CT, MRI, CBC, Chem-7 and a chest X-ray. They showed nothing to explain his symptoms." Blink placed a pile of papers down on the table they were all sitting around. Specs took the top one and started reading it as he gaze filtered from the paper to the board.

"Let's pretend that we have something and we go from there. What would someone see on a MRI?"

"No lesions, no white matter." Race stared at Spot with an inquisitive expression.

"No structural abnormalities." Albert said as he took another paper and started looking at it to see if he could see something on it.

"No space-occupying tumours." JoJo was looking at another piece of paper as he waited for Spot to continue with his explanation.

"He is 17. His brain should be pristine. The smallest thing is abnormal." Spot used his cane to point at the board.

"Meningeal enhancement. I am going to say viral meningitis." Race took what Spot had said and suggested the first thing that came to mind.

"Excellent! He took a small clue that there was a neurological problem and wasn't afraid to run with it." Spot was surprised that Blink hadn't been the one to suggest something like that considering he was a Neurologist.

"But there is no evidence of meningitis on the MRI." Blink indicated the the paper he was holding and that made Spot smirk a little.

"Course there isn't. He's wrong."

Romeo raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Specs before he said. "Then what clue are you talking about?"

"Race knew that I saw something on the MRI. So he figured that there was something and took a guess. Clever, but completely pathetic." Spot noticed that for a split second there was a look of hurt and Race's face before it was gone.

"What did you find then?" Race challenged his boss who just smirked like he always did.

"Look closer at the corpus callosum." Everyone did but they couldn't see anything so they turned to Spot, who started to explain. "200 million interhemspheric nerve fibers, the George Washington bridge of the brain. It is subtle."

"There is some bowing. An upward arch." Race guessed and he hoped that he was right.

"Are you guessing?"

"Yeah."

"Too bad, you're right." Spot nodded at Race with a small smile.

"He could have just moved." Albert tried to show that Race's guess was wrong.

"When people are restless they always shift one hemisphere of their brain to a more comfortable position. Something pushed it." Spot didn't like his diagnoses being questioned but he couldn't blame Albert this time as they really couldn't see it.

"It there is bowing then it could be a tumour." Specs placed the paper back on the pile before he placed both of his hands on his lap.

"Do you see a tumour?"

"No but I don't see any bowing either."

Spot leaned heavily on his cane before saying. "There is no tumour, just a blockage causing pressure, causing symptoms. It may be night terrors now but tomorrow he could be bleeding from his eyes. Get him a radionucleotide cisternogram, you will see a blockage."

Albert and Race nodded before they stood up and left the room to do what Spot had asked.

* * *

Spot entered the exam room, he had just come from the lab where Albert and Race had informed him that the patient had a massive amount of blockage and that they had scheduled him for surgery.

He saw that he had to deal with a young mother and a newborn child, Spot asked as he sat down with a sigh. "What kind of milk are you using?"

"No formula, just mommy's healthly natural breast milk."

Spot tried to not let his disgust show at the description of breast milk. "Very nice."

"Her face just got swollen overnight." The mother indicated her baby's swollen face.

Spot opened the file that was in front of him and read through it before saying. "No fever, glands normal and missing vaccination dates."

"We aren't vaccinating."

Spot closed his eyes, he really didn't want to deal with one of the people that were against vaccines they only made his job much more difficult. "Do you think that they don't work?"

"I think that some multinational pharmaceutical company wants me to think that they work."

"All natural that frog." Spot pointed at the toy as he wondered if Bill Hearst was the kind of man to actually like these people. "Those toy companies, they don't arbitrarily mark up their frogs. They don't lie about how much they spend on research and development. The worst they can be accused of is making a very boring toy."

The baby giggled loudly before Spot continued. "You know another good business? Baby coffins. Tiny, little baby coffins. You can get them in dolphin blue or frog green. The antibodies in the mother only protects the kid for six months, which is why these companies think that they can gouge you. If you want to change things, prove them wrong. A few hundred parents decide to not vaccinate their kids and pay a few bucks then prices will drop really fast."

"What does she have?"

"A cold." Spot growled before setting the file back down and hobbling out, four of his fellows approached him the moment he started walking down a corridor.

"There's a problem." Romeo began as he, Blink, Race and Albert all shared a look.

"Surgery went wrong?"

"No. Surgery went fine but we took a sample of the CPF and tested it." Albert explained in a tense voice that Spot caught onto immediately.

"Really?"

"It turns out that the bowing wasn't the cause rather a symptom."

Spot rubbed his eyes hard as Race broke in with the final part of the explanation. "Oligoclonal bands, and an increase of intrathecal IGG."

"And it takes you four to tell me, why?" Spot was wondering why it took four to tell him this. He knew that it ment it was multiple sclerosis.

"We are having a disagreement on whether it is MS or not.' Blink answered quickly as he looked around nervously.

"No lesions on the MRI." Romeo pointed out which got him a tired glare from Race.

Albert gave his suggestion in a quiet voice. "McDonald criteria requires six months to make a definite diagnosis."

"McPherson." Spot groaned in disgust as he swung his cane in the air. "I heard he tortured cats."

"McDonald." Race corrected with a small smile.

"McDonald. Good doctor, he loved kittens."

Albert raised his hand and checked his clipboard. "The VEP indicates slowing of the brain."

"Without lesions, we cannot be sure."

"It's gone from 0 to 60 in three weeks, which would indicate rapidly progressive MS. Not the fun MS with balloons and the bike rides for cripples in wheelchairs." Blink nodded in agreement with Spot's explanation.

"We should wait until-"

Spot interrupted. "We start treating him now. He can walk for a few more years, maybe live for five. Break the news to the family, I am going home." He hobbled off before anyone could argue with him.

* * *

Spot walked out of the elevator and was immediately intercepted by Albert. Spot said quietly. "Dr. DaSilva, I assume that you found the kid."

"Yes on the roof...about to walk off." Albert deadpanned but Spot didn't visibly react.

"Suicidal?"

"Thought he was on his rugby field. So can I go home to-"

"Conscious?" Spot was already thinking about what could have caused that to happen.

Albert replied quickly as he straightened his tie. "Yeah."

"How'd you talk him down?"

"Race tackle him and then Elmer sedated him before we dragged him back to bed."

Spot raised an eyebrow as he questioned. "Why didn't you do it?"

"I may have broken into places but that doesn't make me a good tackler and Race was closer."

"You can ride with me." Spot entered the elevator with an exhausted Albert. After a few minutes, the two were in Spot's office with the rest of the team. "Who told the family that their boy almost walked off a roof? They must be thrilled."

"Well, they aren't suing but I think that is because Dr. Plumber asked them not to." Mush all but sighed, Katherine had speak to the parents to persuade them to not sue the hospital.

"Why do people always think that I am always sarcastic? They should be thrilled! He doesn't have MS. The mom probably is thrilled, the dad doesn't-"

"Why doesn't he have MS?" Blink interrupted quickly, he didn't see why the boy didn't have MS because he almost walked off a roof.

"He was on the roof, thinking that he was on his rugby field and he was fully conscious. Which means that it was not a night terror as we originally believed." Spot raised the coffee cup that was on his desk towards Albert. "You want some of this?"

"Thanks." Albert whispered before he took a sip of the coffee.

"He was in an acute confusional state, which doesn't fit with a demyelinating disease like MS."

"The oligoclonal bands." Blink stated after a minute of silence to which Spot nodded his head.

"Were real. They just mean something other than MS, so what do they tell us?"

"That the immune system is working." Romeo explained after he thought about it for a few seconds.

Spot put his cane on the desk before he replied. "Right, he has an infection in his brain?"

Race sat up straighter in his chair to reply. "What about sex?"

"Could get complicated. Considering we work together and I am older but we could make it work."

Race blushed faintly before he stammered in reply. "I meant he could have neurosyphilis."

"Nice cover."

Blink shook his head before answering apologetically. "Can't be. RPR was negative."

"We don't need a definitive test to confirm this." Spot swallowed another two pills before replacing the bottle in his pocket.

"Didn't need one to confirm MS either." Elmer muttered which made JoJo bite his lips to stop himself from laughing or snorting.

"Let's wait for you to run titers on 4000 viruses while the kid's brain turns to mush."

"So the fact that he doesn't have MS isn't good news?" Albert was now confused by how Spot kept contradicting himself and changing his mind.

"Well, if it is neurosyphilis, the likelihood of a false negative on an RPR test, 30%, the likelihood of a teenager having sex, 1000 %."

"I'll start him on IV penicillin." Mush sighed as he stood up to go do that but Spot stopped him with a raised hand.

"We can't wait for that. We will have to inject it straight into his brain via the spine."

Blink protested quickly with Albert and Elmer nodding along with him. "We can't. In a cramped space like the brain, increased intracranial pressure from a drug like penicillin could herniate his brain stem and kill him. No Neurological om their right mind would recommend that."

"Show of hands. Who thinks that I am not in my right mind?" No hands were raised and Spot smirked. "And who thinks that I forgot that basic neurological fact?" No hands were raised. "Who thinks there is a third option?" Race raised his hand. "What is it?"

"No idea, you asked if I thought there was one.'

Blink sighed before giving the answer that Spot wanted. "The patient has a shunt in his brain. There'll be no increased pressure, we can put as much penicillin in his body as we want."

"Do it under a lumbar puncture." Spot stood up and made his way to the door. "I am now going to lunch!"

His fellows didn't even stop him from going to lunch, three hours early.

* * *

"You actually treated him?" Spot asked as he and Katherine exited the elevator and started walking down the corridor.

"Yeah I did. I would prefer to not have the hotel sued because of you which he was threatening to do." Katherine had to stop herself from laughing at the innocent expression that had appeared on Spot's face.

"How's your hooker doing then?" David asked as he came up to the two them with a glare that could melt metal.

"He was going to be an hospital administrator but he couldn't find the time. I also hate having to screw people like that." Spot answered in a sickly sweet tone that made the other two stare at him.

"I heard you found him on the roof."

"You have very good hearing then."

David asked with both of his eyebrows raised. "You notify the parents?"

"In due course."

"And is there a paternity bet on the father of the patient?"

"Doesn't sound like me."

Katherine tapped Spot on the shoulder and corrected him. "It does actually but it doesn't mean you're guilty."

"You think?" Spot hit her gently with his cane but Katherine didn't react at all.

"I saw the parents in the lobby, smart money is obviously on the father."

"My guy knows a guy who can get you in for seventy-five bucks." Spot stage-whispered so David would actually catch it.

"You tell your guy that if I win, you attention the faculty symposium and wear a tie." David negotiated in a soft voice.

"And if I win, no clinic hours for a week."

"My guy will call your guy." David nodded before he walked off, leaving Spot standing there with a smirk.

* * *

"Auditory hallucinations show that his brain has degenerated further." Blink explained, it was only him, Romeo, Race and Albert that were still in with Spot now. Everyone else had gone home as it was around six o'clock.

"Penicillin's not working either." Race said after he looked through his clipboard, he still hadn't forgotten the but if flirting that Spot had done earlier that day.

"So our diagnosis is wrong or the penicillin is bad." Spot was staring at the board before he moved forward and picked up a pen and wrote midnight on the board.

"LFTs, BUN and creatinine, are all normal so diabetes is out. No gap." Albert replied to the unasked question.

Spot crossed out the 'M'. "There goes metabolic."

"MRI rules out vasculitus." Romeo announced clearly.

"I' for inflammation." Spot crossed out the 'L'.

"Too young for anything degenerative." Race was wondering where Spot was going with this.

"See ya later 'D'. 'N' for neoplastic?"

"MRI was clean."

Spot repeated himself with noticing. "I' for inflammation."

"We've done that."

"Stupid to have two I's in one mneumonic. What is the other one?' Spot was staring at the four fellows.

"Infection." Albert suggested as he wrote into a notebook.

"Oligoclonal bands still have to mean something."

"But no fevers: white count has elevated but within range."

"And we have tested for anything remotely possible. Everything is negative." Blink shook his head as they watched Spot cross out the other 'I'.

"CT scan rules out subdural."

Spot faced the board as he tried to think about what was affecting his patient. "Trauma, much later. Midnight is actually spelt with a 'G' and 'H' so we must be missing something. He has a sick brain, having fun, torturing him, talking to him. Scaring the hell out of him. Get him an EGG, left and right EOG esophageal microphones. If it wants to talk then we let it speak."

* * *

"We are missing something." Spot and Katherine were sat on the mezzanine that overlooked the lobby. Katherine was listening intently to what he was saying. "This is screwed up."

"And that caused you to come up with the brain talking to the virus?" Katherine still didn't understand how Spot came up with that theory or how he was going to explain it.

"I panicked, okay? Sounded cool and they bought it." Spot looked down at the lobby instinctively and saw Mark's parents walking through it. "Oh, crap. Another reason why I don't like meeting patients. If they don't what you look like then they can't tell at you." He turned to Katherine. "Here we go."

"How can you just sit there?!" The mother called when she saw Spot sitting there.

"If I eat standing, I spill." Spot indicated the sandwiches that was on the table in between the two of them.

"Our son is dying and you could care less? You are doing nothing?"

Spot looked like he was going to make a smart remark but thought better of it. "I understand that you need to vent."

"Don't be condescending, you haven't checked in on him at all." The dad accused.

"Blood pressure's 110/70, the shunt is patent well placed in the right lateral ventricle. The EKG shows a normal QRS with deep wave inversions throughout both limb and pericardial leads. LFTs are elevated but only twice the normal range and he is hearing voices. It is probably best that you told his hand." Spot turned to Katherine who had stayed completely silent. "Have any sample bags on you?"

"I don't believe that. You are going to do DNA tests?" Katherine asked incredulously as she stared at Spot.

"Their son is deathly ill, I know that it is terrible but the fact is that if I don't keep myself busy with trival matters then I am going to cry."

"You're an ass."

"You want to double the bet?" Spot growled back before he made his way to the lab. He entered the lab and saw that Albert and Mush were performing the tests. "General hospital is on channel 6."

"Mark's brain is not showing channel 6 right now, only mush." Mush commented as he looked up from the equipment.

"No epileptiform activity." Spot turned to Albert. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for CBC and Chem-7." Albert answered instantly as he turned around from the equipment he was using.

"Good run DNA on these." Spot placed two cups on the table. One was labelled 'Mommy' and the other was labelled 'Daddy??'.

"What's this?"

"Parents' coffee cups." Spot said as if it was obvious.

"I can't believe-"

"I have already had this conversation once and I don't want to repeat it. Now do it." Spot exited the lab and almost groaned when he saw Mr. Wiesel, the patient he had treated earlier. "I wondered when you would be back. Got some papers for me?"

Mr. Wiesel handed over an envelope as he said. "You have caused me considerable mental stress."

"And you have gonorrhea. Also don't bother me with things like these as I will just take it to the Chairman." Spot tore the envelope into two pieces before stepping into the elevator.

* * *

"You idiots! You lied to me!" Spot shouted as he stormed into David's office with Blink and Race running behind him.

"We didn't lie about anything, you accused us of molesting our son." The dad grumbled back which made David slam his head onto his desk.

"Perfect, Spot-"

"Can we get off my screw-ups and onto theirs? They lied about being Mark's parents!" David closed his eyes as he realised the problem they were in.

"We're his parents." The mother insisted.

"He's adopted. He doesn't need to know." The dad replied.

Spot glared at them with a cold glare. "I do."

"He's adopted that makes him as-"

"When we were talking about his medical history, were you confused? Did you think we were looking for a genetic clue to his condition, or did you think that we were trying to ascertain who loved him the most in the world?"

"How did you work this out?" David asked as he was already planning on how to unravel this mess.

"I sampled their DNA."

"But we didn't give you any DNA!" The dad shouted angrily.

"Your coffee cups from the cafeteria."

"You can't do that!" David groaned loudly, he wouldn't be surprised if the hospital would be sued because of this.

Spot shrugged and looked like he didn't care at all. "Again, why are we getting hung up on what I did? Your medical history is useless."

"We gave you the complete medical history of his biological mother."

"Her history: non-smoker, good health, low cholesterol, no blood pressure problems."

"Mark was adopted a week after he was born. There is nothing you don't know that we haven't told."

"When was she vaccinated?" Spot asked as he swallowed two pills. "Was his biological mother vaccinated?"

"Mark was vaccinated when he was six months old."

"Hmm. Do you know why kids get vaccinated at six months old? Because before that they are protected by their biological mother's immune system. So was she vaccinated? An infant picks up a regular old measles virus. He gets a rash, he is extremely uncomfortable, has a wicked fever but he lives. Here's the kicker, once every million or so times, the virus mutates."

* * *

"Instead of Mark having a fever and a rash, the virus travels to his brain and hides like a time bomb, in this case for 16 years." Spot explained as he waved his cane around to add effect to his explanation.

"Sub-acute sclerosing pan-encephalitis." Blink stated, it was him and Romeo, Race, Mush were the ones that Spot were talking.

"I know. There has only been 20 cases in the United States in the past 30 years."

"I suppose that you believe that the kid is still in stage one. Once SSPE moves to stage two-"

"Boom!" Spot yelled which made his fellows jump back in their chairs. "Stage two is universally fatal."

"I am guessing that it is impossible to tell when they are moving into stage two." Romeo sighed loudly.

"He's started showing symptoms ready. Could be a month, could be tonight."

"Can we treat it?"

"Ask the Neurologist."

Blink thought about it for a minute before sighing. "Intraventricular interferon. That is the only way I can think of."

"We can't just shove a huge spike in his brain and drip interferon without confirming the diagnosis." Race burst out when Blink had finished explaining.

"Tap him." Spot snarled as he glared Race back into his seat.

"We won't get a reliable result for measles antibodies in his CSF, not after everything we've given him."

Spot started pacing around his office as he swung his cane about. "So the wrong treatment kills any hope of the right diagnosis. Why do people lie to me? It could also kill him. You make the choice, Blink, I won't be the one doing this."

"There is another way though." Blink sighed as he looked at Spot, who had stopped pacing and swinging his cane about.

* * *

"You can't order a $3, 200 DNA test to win a bet." David sighed as he put the request down on his desk.

Spot shrugged and just stared back at his boss with an uncaring expression. "It isn't an actual cost. The hospital dies own the sequencing machine."

"I am serious." David's eyes had narrowed as he stared down at Spot.

"Have the parents submit the bill to insurance."

"Insurance won't pay for a bet."

Spot looked bored as he explained. "It should, if we don't then the kid dies. If we hadn't made the paternity bet them I wouldn't have taken their DNA, and if I hadn't taken their DNA then we wouldn't have found out that Makr's parents weren't his real ones. You just don't want to pay your side of the bet, my guy knows a guy."

"You get to a clinic duty for a week when you pay for the DNA test. $3,200, remember." David tried to negotiate with Spot.

Spot limped over to the desk and slammed his cane down on the desk. "There is the $100 you owe me, the $150 Albert gave me, I took $200 from Blink and $600 from Katherine. Very bitter that one."

* * *

Albert and Romeo were stood in Mark's room as they both checked him out. Albert said to him. "Good news on your EGG, treatment is working."

"And your immune system is responding." Romeo added as he wrote onto a clipboard.

"I know that ot is early, but let's see what that brain can do. Name as many animals as you can that begin with 'R'.

"Rabbit, rhino, robin."

"That is two more then last time." Romeo hesitated before asking. "How are you doing about the adoption thing?"

"I knew since 7th grade." Mark answered quickly.

"How."

"Grey eyes. I looked it up and it is one of those triat things."

Albert looked impressed as he continued. "It is a autosomal dominant. Since neither of your parents have grey eyes, it is unlikely that you are related biologically."

"You sure, you are okay?"

"I'm fine." 

Mark's parents entered the room as Albert finished examining the patient. "How's he doing?"

"He's fine. He is a smart kid so he wi be fine." 

Albert left the room as Romeo carried on reassuring the parents. He was content with the fact that they had saved another life today.


	3. Occam's Razor

"Why do you want me to treat him?" Spot used his cane to point at the boy both him and Katherine were watching through a window.

"His blood pressure is not responding to IV fluids." Katherine explained quickly as she really wanted Spot to treat the boy as he was one of the best doctors in the world.

"I didn't ask how you plan to con me into treating him. I asked why you want me to treat him." Spot was really interested as to why Katherine wanted him to treat this patient.

"He's sick, I care. I'm pathetic."

"There are around a billion sick people so why this one?"

"Because this one is in our emergency room."

Spot nodded before replying in a deadly serious voice. "So it is a proximity issue then. If somebody was sick in the third floor stairwell then that's who we would be talking about."

"I checked the stairwell, it's clear." Katherine was used to the comments that Spot would make and she wasn't that affected by them now.

"Right then, emergency room guy it is then."

"How was that so easy?" Katherine watched as Spot made his way to the elevator and pressed the button that would bring it down.

"You know why."

"The blood pressure."

"That's just weird!" Spot called back as he entered the elevator and pressed the button that would take him upto the floor where his office was. Spot entered the office where his team were doing basically nothing. "CBC was unremarkable, abdominal CT scan didn't show anything. So, differential diagnosis. What is wrong with her?"

"Him." Albert entered the room with the boy's file under his arm. "Dr. Plumber gave me his file."

Spot waved his hand as if to show that he doesn't care about it at all. "Him, her, does it matter? Could it be a testicular problem? No, Mush."

"Absidia infection?" Mush suggested with uncertainty, he hadn't seen the patient so he could only guess what was wrong with him.

"You wouldn't get the rash or cough. What about arthritis? Accompanying vasculitus causes nerve damage-" Albert glared at Romeo who had interrupted him.

"It wouldn't cause the blood pressure problems. Allergy?" Romeo had read the file and it was unlikely that what Albert suggested would cause the problems with blood pressure.

"The kid's got abdominal pain. Maybe carcinoid?" JoJo stared at the board where Spot had wrote down the symptoms.

"No, but then you wouldn't get the-"

Spot slammed a huge book down in front as he growled. "Albert, if you're going to list all the things it's not then you should go alphabetically. Let's see. Absidia? Excellent, but it doesn't account for any of the symptoms."

"No condition accounts for all these symptoms." Romeo insisted, it seemed like everything they suggested didn't fit all the symptoms at all.

"Good! I thought that he was sick, apparently, he's not. Who wants to sign the discharge papers?" Silence filled the room. "We need to control the blood pressure, otherwise he's going to start circling the drain before we can figure out what's wrong. Treat him for sepsis, broad-spectrum antibiotics and I want a cort-stim test and an echocardiogram."

* * *

David glared at Spot as he entered the clinic. "You're half an hour late."

"Busy case load today." Spot answered as he twirled his cane around like he always did when he was thinking.

"One case is not a 'load' as you put it." David glared back at his employee as he shoved a file into Spot's arms.

"How are we doing on cotton swabs, today? If there's an acute shortage I could run home-"

"No you couldn't." David eyed the Spot's bad leg as he waited for the man to answer.

"Nice." Spot made his way over to the waiting room and announced dramatically. "Hello, sick people and their loved ones!" He ignored David's look of incredulity. "In the interest of saving time and avoiding a lot of boring chit-chat. I'm Dr. Spot Conlon, you can call me Spot. I'm one of three doctors that shall be staffing the clinic today."

"Short, sweet. Grab a file." David didn't understand where Spot was going with this.

"This ray of sunshine is Dr. David Jacobs. Dr. Jacobs runs this entire hospital so he is to busy to deal with you all. I am a bored certified diagnostician with a double speciality of gastroenterology and infectious disease. I am also the only doctor here at this clinic who is employed against his will. Isn't that true?" David just stared at him with disappointment. "Not to worry, for most of you this job could be done by a monkey with a bottle of Motrin." Spot removed his pill bottle and showed to the waiting room. "If you're particularly annoying then you may see me reach for this. This is Vicodin and it's mine. You can't have any and I don't have a pain management. I have a pain problem but who knows? Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm too stoned to tell. So who wants me?" None of the patients raised their hands. "Who wants one of the other doctors?" Everyone raised their hand. "If you change your mind then I will be in exam room 1."

"Evan Matthews. Go with Dr. Conlon to exam room 1." David tired to not smile as he realised what Spot had been trying to do.

Spot opened the file that was in his arm as he waited for Evan to sit down. He asked after reading through the file. "What colour was your mucus?"

"It was yellow."

"It was?"

"Yeah, it isn't anymore."

"Such a shame."

"I thought that it might be a problem, so I brought this." Evan handed over w yellow paint card.

Spot took it and stared at it with a glare. "Your mucus was pale goldenrod."

"Last week. Should I be worried?"

Spot nodded his head as he slid the card into the file to show Katherine later. "Oh, yes. Very worried."

"I thought I was okay."

"Then why are you here? Paramedics take a week to respond to your call?"

"You're not a nice doctor are you?"

Spot really didn't like patients who stated the obvious when he had to deal with them. They were more annoying then the doctors he had to deal with all the time. "And you are very bad at whatever you do."

"You don't even know me!"

"I know that you are going to get fired. That's why you have new glasses, that's why your teeth are sparkly white. You are getting the most out of your health insurance while you can."

"I might be quitting." Evan muttered lowly.

"If you were quitting then you would have quit last week when your snot was pale goldenrod. So you are still getting fired."

"I don't like being told what to do."

"I'll get you in for a full body scan next week." Spot growled before leaving the idiot patient in the room by himself.

* * *

"It's got to be viral. We should start running gels and titers." Albert said when he had finished looking at the test results with a careful eye.

"We should test the girlfriend's theory. She thinks that she rode him to death." Race snorted as he read through a file that was on the table they were sat around.

Albert laughed loudly as he looked at Race. "What did you tell her? Oh, I forgot that she isn't your type at all. You prefer small, black haired, grumpy men, don't you?"

Race glared at the red head as he realised that the description fit Spot with absolute certainty. "I told her that twenty-two year old men don't die from sex. Albert, you prefer energetic men, don't you?"

Romeo cut in before it started an all out brawl. "What did you ask her?"

"What do you mean?" Race and Albert were still glaring at each other but they had turned their attention to Romeo.

"I hope that you got specifics on exactly what was happening. It's a girl who thinks it could kill you...it's worth knowing about."

Albert grabbed the test results that had just been printed as he replied. "Have you ever taken a life?" Romeo gave him an furious look. "And we should stop the antibiotics."

"It's too early to say if they aren't having an effect." Romeo protested loudly.

"They are. His BP's falling fast, there's fluid filling his lungs, his creatinine's rising. His kidney's are failing, our treatment isn't making him better, it's killing him." Albert sighed as he looked at the results as he removed his glasses.

* * *

Elmer wrote 'kidney faliure' on the board as Spot, Albert, Race, Romeo and Mush all looked at the board. The rest of the team were off conducting tests to see if they could work out was wrong with the boy.

"We had six symptoms that didn't add up, now we have seven. Who's excited?" Spot rumbled as he twirled his cane around.

"It might not complicate things. The kidney failure was caused by the antibiotics." Albert sipped at his coffee as he waited for Spot to reply.

"Maybe."

"Low blood pressure and abdominal pain mean an infection, an abdominal infection causes sepsis, low blood pressure-"

"Except we have tested for abdominal infections." Mush pointed out quickly, he was ready to point out that suggestion was wrong.

"But what if it is the other way around. What if the low blood pressure is causing the abdominal pain?"

"Viral heart infection. The intestines aren't getting enough blood, and the result is stomach pain." Romeo waved his hand to get his point through.

"I know that it isn't the standard presentation." Albert indicated the file that was on the table.

"It's a 10 million to one shot." Race looked at Albert with a confused look.

"That is what we normally deal with here. It explains the cardiomyopathy, pain, the low BP, the fever."

"You read the book, I'm impressed." Spot smirked at Albert before standing up and approaching the board. "It's a ludicrously long shot that explains each symptom. Except for the cough and the rash, should we erase those two?"

"Anything can cause a rash."

"Okay." Spot grabbed a coloured marker. "Cardiac infection." He circled all of the symptoms that applicable for that condition. "Romeo, you thought...allergy." He used a different marker to circle those symptoms. "Race, you thought it was carcinoid. Then there is hypothyroidism, could be parasites. Or a sinus infection."

Albert said once Spot had started twirling his cane again which gave him the idea that he was thinking. "You will need more colours, if you are going to list all the things that it isn't."

"Romeo was right. No condition explains all the symptoms, orange and green explain everything."

"Orange and green? Two conditions, contracted simultaneously?" Mush questioned, he thought that it could be possible that the boy had two conditions at the same time.

"Occam's Razor." Albert sighed as he realised what Spot meant. "The simplest explanation is always the best."

"And you think one is simpler than two." Spot stared at his team with a blank expression.

"Pretty sure it is." Romeo was wondering where exactly Spot was going with this explanation.

"Baby shows up. Race tells you that two people exchanged fluids to create this being. I tell you that one stork dropped the little tyke off in a diaper. You going to go with one or two?" Race was trying to not laugh at the arguement that Spot had offered.

"I think that your arguement is specious." Albert replied as he tried to figure out what Spot wanted them to do.

"I think your tie is ugly. Why is one simpler then two? It's lower, lonelier...is it simpler? Each of those conditions is about a thousand to one shot. That means any one of them happening together at the same time is a million to one shot. Race says that cardiac infection is a 10 million to one shot, which makes my idea ten times better then yours. Get a calculator and run the numbers."

"We'll run the tests." Mush stood up and was about to leave the room when Spot stopped him.

"Tests take to long. Treatment is quicker. Start the kid on Unasyn for the sinus infection and...what was orange?"

"Hypothyroidism." Romeo answered before he followed the other three out of the room to conduct the tests.

* * *

Romeo exited the room that the patient was in with his parents and girlfriend, he caught up to Race and Albert. "Tell the family, Spot's theory?" Albert asked as they walked down the corridor.

"Two odd conditions striking completely coincidentally at the exact same time?" Race raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his file.

"I didn't phrase it that way." Romeo replied as he tried to not yawn. He hadn't slept at all last night and that made him completely exhausted.

"They agree to treatment?"

"Of course they did, we're doctors. They believe what we tell them." Albert paused as he thought about something. "Is that our job? Spot's puppets? He comes up with an insane idea and we pretend it isn't?"

"His insane ideas are usually right. We've been here long enough-"

Albert interrupted as the three entered the lab. "We've been here long enough to have Stockholm Syndrome." Romeo and Race bust into laughter at that.

"Because we don't hate him? He thinks outside the box, is that so bad?" Race questioned as they started to test for viral infections.

"He has no idea where the box is! If you think he is right then go home. Wait for the kid to get better." Albert grumbled as they fell into silence and carried on with the testing. After several minutes he announced. "Negative for Coacsackie-B virus."

"Seven down, about 5000 to go. You actually think that we're going to come up with your mystery virus by running gels until we guess it right?" Race answered as he marked down another virus it wasn't on a piece of paper.

"No, I think that we'll get it by watching other people work."

"I'm waiting for the Epstein Barr virus." He turned to look at Romeo, who was working in a different part of the lab to them. "Weird, isn't he?"

"Bad idea."

"What?"

"Bad idea." Albert repeated quietly. "You work with him and you have a crush on someone else."

"What did I say? Is 'weird' now a euphemism for 'sexy', like 'bad' is good and 'phat' is good. Then what the hell does 'good' mean?" Race ignored the crush part of Albert's sentence.

Albert just laughed before continuing. "You don't think he is hot?"

"No."

"Then you're brilliant. And I am using 'brilliant' as a euphemism."

Race stared at his friend for a while before replying. "Romeo is hot, obviously. You are not talking about if he is hot but if I want to jump him. I don't."

"Brilliant." Albert stayed silent until a test beeped loudly. "Your Epistein Barr is ready."

* * *

Albert and Romeo were now stood in the main part of the lab with Race in the area where Romeo was an hour before. Mush was helping Katherine with another patient while the team waited for the tests to be done.

"Negative on parvovirus B19." Romeo sighed as he checked the next set of test results, he placed them on the growing pile that had around 500 test results on it now.

"I'm impressed." Albert was surprised at how efficient Romeo was, considering that he was only hired a few weeks ago.

"Thanks. I was born the run gels."

Albert ignored the immodesty and said what he had actually meant. "I mean about Race."

"What about him?" Romeo was confused about what Albert was speaking about.

"He has no physical interest in and only wants a professional relationship, he respects you as a colleague and a doctor. But he can't look at you without thinking about sex." Albert was confused about what Race wanted, he either wanted Romeo or he wanted to find out if Spot was gay.

"Because I asked what kind of sex can kill you?"

"You now have no control over your relationship with him now." Albert turned back to start running the next test.

"So, a man can't express his interest in sex without it being some sort of power play?"

"No." Spot answered as he hobbled in as he swallowed two pills. "If you look how you do and speak how you do then you have to be aware of the effects that it could have on gay men."

"Men should grow up." Romeo grumbled, not realising what he said also included him.

"Yeah. And a dog should stop licking themselves but it's not going to happen."

Race entered as he asked in a curious voice. "What''s going on?"

"What are you here for?" Albert inquired as he looked away from the test he was conducting.

Spot had to stop himself from saying something about Race's italian accent. He replied instead. "I'm looking for you guys."

"Why didn't you page us?"

"I knew you'd be here." Spot just smirked mysteriously.

Race looked confused as he said. "Who told him?"

"No one. You are trying to prove my two-illness theory wrong. So, obviously, you would be in the lab. You spin the urine?"

"Not yet."

"Tell me when you do." Spot exited the lab leaving three confused doctors behind.

* * *

Spot and Katherine were sat in Spot's office when Albert and Blink entered the office. "What did you find?"

"The kidney failure. It's acute interstitial nephritis." Albert realised that Spot had been right but he wouldn't say that out loud.

"I wonder if that is significant."

"It means that the antibiotics didn't cause the kidney failure. How did you know?"

"If you guys hadn't been so busy with proving my theory wrong then you would have realised that I had visited the kid." Spot sighed as he wondered why Albert had been so focused on proving him wrong.

"You visited the patient?" Albert was surprised as Spot never visited patients when they were ill, he only visited after they were cured.

"I sat by his bed all morning. Just so that he'd have someone there by his side."

Katherine agreed with the point that Spot was making. "I checked in on him and he seemed fine."

"Ergo, the treatment's working. Ergo, me right, you wrong." Spot jabbed a finger in Albert's direction.

Blink shrugged as he dragged Albert out of the office. "We're happy for the kid."

"The smugness of yours is an attractive quality."

Spot stared at Katherine before replying. "It was either that or getting my hair highlighted. Smugness is much easier to maintain than the hair."

"I know that you are not a big fan of the catching flies with honey approach, but do you think that it will work this time?" Katherine wondered what exactly Spot was doing.

"Flies, no. Doctors, yes. If I had said to Albert. 'Nice try it was a good guess but not this time.,' what do you think he'd be doing now?"

"I think that he'd be going home, not feeling like a piece of crap."

"Exactly."

"You want him to feel like a piece of crap?" Katherine really wondered why Spot would want Albert to feel like that.

"No. I don't want him to go home." Spot growled before hobbling out of the office to go somewhere else in the hospital.

* * *

Spot stared at the white board as he twirled his cane in his hand, he knew the boy's first symptom was a cough. That didn't make sense for what he had suggested because if what Albert had said was true then the boy still had a cough. He pulled a book from his shelf and stared flicking through it as Race watched him through the glass window.

Spot stood up suddenly and entered the office where all of his team were sat around a table. "Gout."

"Are we talking about the same boy?" JoJo whispered to Elmer, whi shrugged.

"Gout? Uric acid crystals in the joints? The symptoms are pain, swelling, redness, stiffness...none of which are on the board." Albert pointed at the board where none of the symptoms he listed weren't written on.

"Because he doesn't have gout. Every day, cells die. We survive because the remaining cells divide and replace. The colchicine, a gout medicine, stops mitosis and blocks cell division, which will result in abdominal pain, rash, nausea, fever, kidney failure, low blood pressure and will also meas with the bone marrow." Spot crossed all the symptoms off the board quickly.

"But he doesn't have gout. Why would he need that medication?" Race asked, they would have realised if he had gout.

"Because you guys were right, he didn't have two conditions at once. First, he got a cough. Now, because he is an idiot, he went to a doctor. In order to feel justified charging $200, the doctor felt like he should do something. He wrote a prescription, 7000 people die a year from pharmacy screw-ups, not nearly as many die from doctor screw-ups. Still not something they use in their promotional material. The pharmacist gave him gout medicine instead of cough medicine. And the only thing it wouldn't do: it would do absolutely nothing to relieve his cough. Occam's Razor. The simplest explanation is that somebody always screws up."

"But when he was checked into the hospital, he was under our control. Our food, our pills, our everything. Even if you're right, no gout medicine. He'd either continue to deteriorate or he would have gotten better. And then he got worse. It doesn't make sense, it doesn't fit." Elmer pointed out with a disbelieving tone.

"Two people screwed up then!" Spot yelled before storming put of the office towards the room where the boy was. Race, Romeo, Albert, Blink and Mush all rushed after him.

The girlfriend announced as she noticed Spot storming towards them. "He's resting-"

"I'm Dr. Conlon, your son's physician."

"You're the one we haven't met yet." The mother said with a inquisitive tone.

"How can you treat someone without meeting them?" The dad inquired.

Spot raised his cane and the three were silenced immediately. "It's easy if you don't give a crap about them. That's a good thing, if emotions made you act rationally, then they wouldn't be called emotions then, would they? That's why we have this nice division of labour, you hold his hand, I get him better. If I start tucking you in then that wouldn't be fair to you two, and if you start prescribing medicine then that wouldn't be fair to me. So what I want to know: who stepped on my side of the med? Who was stupid enough to give him medicine?"

"Dr. DaSilva said-"

"On Tuesday, he's getting better. Wednesday, he got worse. Somebody gave him hid cough medicine on Wednesday." Spot paused as he waited for the three to answer. "I won't be mad. I just want to know who tried to kill him."

"Dr. Conlon, maybe we should-" Albert tried to say but was interrupted.

"His throat was sore." The mother whispered.

"Someone page Dr. Occam. He'll want to hear about this." Blink tried to not snort at the sarcastic remark.

"He was coughing and I wanted to help him!"

"I wish you would dare. Where are the pills?" Spot was already running through all the medication that the boy would have to take.

"He took the last of it before they switched rooms."

Romeo asked steadily. "They are all gone?"

"I thought it was cough medicine!"

"It wasn't. Where's the bottle?" The mother pulled out a bottle from her bag. "Mush, take the mother and the girlfriend and go to the pharmacy. The rest of you go to the boy." Spot hobbled away quickly.

* * *

"It was perfect, so beautiful." Spot muttered as Katherine stared at him from the chair that was in the corner of his office.

"Beauty often seduces us on the road to truth." Katherine wondered what was wrong with Spot.

"And tritness kicks us in the nads."

"So true."

"This doesn't bother you?"

"That you were wrong? I'm trying to work through the pain-"

Spot interrupted her as he slammed his cane on the desk. "I was not wrong. Everything I said was true, it fit."

"So...reality was wrong."

"Reality is almost always wrong." Spot swallowed some pills as he leaned back in his chair. "The cough medicine did something. Aggravated the condition. It's all over the place, must be in the blood."

Katherine placed the tips of his fingers together before asking. "What if it is in the blood?"

"Lymphoma?"

"Unless you've got something better."

"We ruled out lymphoma because his CT scan showed no adenophathy. CBC showed a normal diffen smear, bone marrow shows nothing-"

"Screw the tests. Do a exploratory lobotomy and find out what's in there."

Spot shook his head as he replied. "He has no blood pressure, no immune system and no kidneys. Surgery will kill him."

"Let's stick with the wrong pill theory." Katherine said as she really didn't want the death of a person in her conscience.

"I'll schedule him for surgery." Spot stood up and left the room to do that.

* * *

Spot hobbled down the corridor that led to the surgery room. He waved at the parents before entering the room without any of the equipment needed. "Hey! How you all doing? Interesting fact: every seven years it's a new you."

"Dr. Conlon, this is a clean room." Albert said in an exasperated voice, this wasn't the first time it had happened and Spot always did it even if he wasn't meant to.

"I read the sign. But cells of different organs reproduce at different rates." He touched the boy's leg. "So a new kidney every three years, a new stomach lining every week. This is why colchicine poisoning causes all of these symptoms but not at once."

"But we went to the pharmacy! We saw the pills!" The mother announced in a loud voice.

"Colchicine does its damage in a very specific order. The pain in the abdomen, the rash, the fever...that's ehat you got first. Then the kidneys go, which is what happened to you." Spot stared at the boy before continuing. "Then is screws up your narrow and then...neuropathy. Painful tingling in the fingers and toes. And what do you think happens after that?" He pulled out some of the boy's hair. "Hair loss. The special news: you boy's doing drugs."

"No he isn't!"

"Ecstasy?"

"No!"

"Twice." The boy groaned.

"They apparently cut those things with colchicine. Unless you ingested the colchicine through your contact lens solution or skin cream or some, other drug. I don't know how it happened, I don't care how it happened. Start him on fab fragments and give him some Tylenol for the held I pulled out." He turned and walked out of the room with Katherine, who had arrived no long after him. "Make a note: I should never doubt myself!"

"You'll remember but it won't hurt to be wrong now and then." Katherine replied before they turned around the corner.

* * *

Spot knocked slowly on the front door in front of hill, he really didn't want to come but Katherine had forced him to. Jack Kelly opened the door and smiled. "Dave wasn't sure that you would come?"

"Well, I don't usually do this so you could say that this is a surprise for both of us." Spot handed over a bottle of wine that Katherine had given him. He followed Jqck in and tried to out his mind in the dinner he had to sit through but his mind stayed in the young Italian that worked under him.


	4. Maternity

"Exhibit A: baby girl Autumn. Term baby, 42 hours old. Went into seizures 6 hours ago, brought into the intensive care. Diagnosed with obstruction of the small bowel." Spot explained as he and Katherine looked at two babys through a window.

"I'm amazed that you would be in the same room as a patient." Katherine was already wondering why Spot had summoned her here.

"People don't bug me until they start to talk." Spot paused for a few seconds. "Exhibit B: baby boy Samson, another term baby, 48 hours old. Brought into NICU before the Autumn baby, fever of unknown origin, 101 degrees, trending upwards."

"That is surprising! You hung out in the OB/GYN lounge and heard about two sick babys. It's eerie." Katherine went to touch something on the table next to her but Spot stopped her hand with his cane.

"Don't touch that."

"Okay..." Katherine was confused as she didn't know why she couldn't touch what was on the table.

Spot sighed before starting to explain. "We have an infection spreading in this hospital."

"These kids have totally unrelated and different illnesses."

"They sick within four hours of each other, same delivery rooms. Maternity rooms are neighbouring, so transmission is possible. They have the same symptoms."

"The Autumn girl has a bowel obstruction and however close the beds might be, they can't share a blockage."

"What does bowel obstruction indicate on a chart?"

Katherine said with her eyebrows raised, she didn't know why Spot wouldn't know that. "I'd say that it means a bowel obstruction. Although, you think it means something else don't you?"

"It means that some random doctor of intermediate skill thinks that the patient's bowel is obstructed."

Katherine tried to not laugh as she replied. "You're upset that they threw you out of their lounge."

Spot waved his hand. "Look at the X-ray. It's a normal gas pattern."

"I can get you a key to the oncology lounge if you want." Katherine did actually believe that was why Spot was taking on this case.

"Air. Air in the colon." Spot was ignoring what Katherine was saying and carried on with his explanation.

"We're getting TiVo."

"If it's air then there is now bowel obstruction."

"Even if it is air, it could have been there before the obstruction."

Spot started limping away as he called back. "Something's infected both these infants."

* * *

"You're the only one that put this together because..." David stared at Spot with a disbelieving expression.

"Because I'm the only one that looked at both kids. I want them isolated and I want the maternity ward shut down."

"Because you are better at looking at X-rays then a Radiologist."

Spot shrugged as he replied. "Radiologists always overlook babies' X-rays, especially if they are asked to rule out a pathology. He read into what he wanted."

"Which is what you are doing." David knew it wasn't worth pointing out but he did point it out still. "You're finding a cluster because you think it's interesting. And plain old sick babies would bore you."

"This is why I don't waste money on shrinks. You give me all the great insights for free." Spot still wouldn't visit a psychiatrist even if he had billions of dollars.

David stood up as he replied with a smile. "If you would consider going to a shrink then I would pay for is it myself. The hospital would hold a bake sale for it. I wouldn't be surprised if Bill handed you a cheque for it."

"We have an epidemic!" Spot knew that all three of those things were completely true as well.

David turned around from his office door and said in a steady voice. "Two sick babies is very sad but it doesn't prove an epidemic."

"How many do?" Spot whispered rhetorically as he was left in the office by himself.

* * *

David watched as babies were being brought into the NICU. He walked towards a couple that had appeared and said. "Excuse me, did Intake send you up?"

"Yeah they did." The man replied as he watched David intently.

"They messed up. I'm sorry but Nurse Willams will arrange for an ambulance to take you to New York General."

"We have to leave?!"

"The maternity ward is temporarily closed. So we cannot have any births occur here at the current moment."

The elevator opened and Spot appeared, he grabbed David by the arm and dragged him into the elevator. They then made their way to the office where Spot's team was waiting and Spot started writing on the white board.

"Three sick babies and a fourth one showing symptoms."

"How bad?" David asked as he stared at Race, Albert, Mush Elmer and the rest of the team.

"Spiking fevers." Race pointed out quickly.

Albert added on as he looked at the list of the babies' names. "BP's plummeting. They're able to keep systolic up; at this rate, they'll be dead in a day."

"Where did this come from?"

"Two delivery rooms, four different maternity rooms, no common personal and no common equipment." Elmer and Mush shared a look, they hadn't worked out how Spot had figured out that there was an infection. They did think that it had something to do with Katherine as she was the one he went to for advice.

"There's got to be something in common." David was already thinking about how to contain the infection as they didn't know if it only spread to babies.

"That's the difference between an epidemic and a coincidence." Spot grumbled, he was already twirling his cane in his hand.

"I'm putting a team together to swab everything." David left, not noticing the incredulous look that he got from most of the team.

"What's she going to swab? Every respirator, vent, sink, drain in the entire hospital?" Specs said with question in his voice. "It'll take months."

"A needle in a haystack." Romeo nodded his head in agreement.

"It's worse than that. We don't even know what needle we're looking for." Spot started to erase everything he had written on the board.

JoJo leaned forward with an inquisitive expression. "Then why'd you let him go?"

"Because the hospital's his baby and his baby's sick. If he doesn't solve this soon then his head is going to explode and I don't want to get any on me." Spot turned around and looked at his team. "So let's figure out what's in the haystack. Differential diagnosis, people."

"Parasite." Blink suggested at once.

Mush shook his head as he rubbed his eyes gently. "Spreading too quickly."

Spot wrote 'parasite' in the board and then crossed it off to show that wasn't the one. "Next?"

"Virus?" Spot wrote 'virus' on the board after Elmer suggested it.

"Kids are too sick and the blood tests show no lymphocytosis." Albert leaned back in his chair as he read through the file of one of the babies.

Specs nodded in agreement with Albert. "And they're not responding to a cycle of avirarapovirin. If it's some other virus, we'll never find it in time."

Spot wrote a question mark next to 'virus' on the board. "Which leads us to bacterial infection. It's not responding to broad-spectrum antibiotics, so we've got something resistant. The usual suspects."

"MRSA. It's always MRSA in hospitals." Elmer was sure that MRSA was a possibility for the cause of the infection.

"What about a contaminated food or water source? Pseudomonas." Romeo disagreed with what Elmer suggested quickly.

"VRE?" Race added quickly as he noticed that Spot had been staring at him while listening to the others.

Albert sighed loudly as he watched Spot write down all the things that the others had suggested. "H-flu."

"Okay those are the big ones. Cultures will take 48 hours, then it might as well be a post-mortem. We'll start them on Vancomycin for the MRSA and Aztreonam for the rest. Let's get the MRIs, check for abscesses or some occult infection. I'll be in the clinic. Grab me if you find something important. Or unimportant." Spot moved out of the office to make his way to the clinic.

* * *

Albert and Romeo were walking down a corridor after conducting MRIs on the babies that had been infected. Albert inquired in a quiet voice. "Pretty standard question: how sick is my child? You couldn't answer it, could you?"

"I did answer!" Romeo groaned as he tried to not tear out his hair in frustration, he could feel Albert's disappointment.

"You rattled of numbers! BP, O2 stats. That isn't what they need to know, that is what we need to know." Albert didn't understand why the question was so hard to answer.

"What they need to know in the future." Romeo pointed out as he started to look at the charts they had got from the tests. "Got a magic 8-ball?"

"Just eight years of medical training. I realise that it is hard to break the news to family-"

"Not as tough as hearing it."

"And I guess being the poor person dying is the toughest of all?" Albert leaned on the front clinic desk as he waited for Romeo to answer.

"No. It's easier to die than to watch someone else die." Romeo walked away from the desk before Albert could reply, the red head just stared after him with a confused gaze.

* * *

Katherine stared at David and his team that were swabbing in one of the delivery rooms. She listened as David ordered. "We're checking the vents, it could be airborne. Somebody get the sinks and get under them."

"I'll get it." One of the med students replied before she started to do what she had been told.

"How many med students have you got swabbing the decks?" Katherine asked as she paused next to David, who stopped directing the team to speak with her.

"What else are they going to do? They aren't delivering babies, are they?" David still didn't understand how Katherine and his sister got together, he didn't know whether it was in high school or when they met in college. He was just thankful that it didn't make work awkward for the two of them.

"Find anything yet?"

"Yeah. About half of the antibacterial gel dispensers are empty or broken." David would have to work out how they would replace the dispensers this time.

"That's bad. And diagnostically, completely insignificant." Katherine looked at the room that had students working all over it.

"If the staff can't wash their hands then it's no wonder it's no wonder that an infection has spread." David crossed his arms as he continued to watch his team.

"I also noticed that you have a new painting in your office." Katherine remembered that the painting showed Dvaid sleeping on the couch with a book on his chest and glasses on his eyes.

"What?" David paused as he realised what Katherine meant. "Oh, that one. I got that for my birthday a few days ago, you remember what you bought. And Les didn't send anything..."

Katherine tried to not wince as she heard that name, Les Jacobs had been the only member from his family to go to an Ivy League university. Once he graduated, Les had moved across America to San Francisco and had cut ties with his family. She decided to leave before she brought up some other memories.

* * *

"You look cheery, what's happening?" Spot asked as Romeo entered the office, his remark made Blink and Mush raise their heads from the table.

"The Autumn and Samson babies. Their kidneys are shutting down." Romeo whispered as he slumped into one of the chairs.

"The urine tests show no casts." Race said, he and Albert had just entered the office with test results in their arms.

"Which means the antibiotics are causing the kidney failure." Spot leaned on his cane and stared at the board intently.

"He's the Nephrologist." Albert pointed at Mush. "So you can tell us which one it is. Don't tell me that Vancomycin and Atzrenoanm can-"

"They both can cause this. There is no way to tell which one it is." Soot turned to look at Race with questions in his eyes.

"We can't take them off both antibiotics or they will die from the infection."

Romeo stood up as he replied to Albert. "If we take them on both then they'll die from kidney failure."

"So we take our best guess then. Which drug causes it?" Race looked at the other two as he waited for their answer.

"It's always MRSA in hospitals. Take them of Atzrenonam." Albert wouldn't back down from his position, he noticed that Blink and Mush were both staying out of the argument.

"I still think it's pseudomonas." Romeo replied quickly, he knew that just because it could be MRSA it didn't mean it was. "I say take them of the Vancomycin."

Spot stood up as he turned to the three. "There's no point in guessing. Take one kid off Vancomycin and the other off Atzrenonam."

"They have the same disease, you want to treat them differently?"Race raised his eyebrows in clear confusion. He didn't see how that would help at all.

"What the hell are you doing?" Albert demanded immediately.

"Therapeutic trial to determine the cause of the infection."

"That's wrong."

Spot waved his hand to show he didn't care about Albert's objections. He turned around suddenly and his eyes widened a small bit when he saw Race's nose which was scrunched up. "We have four sick kids, at least. Who knows how many haven't started showing symptoms yet?"

"We have a duty to these two!"

"If these two have different reactions then we know how to save the others."

Albert growled with clenched teeth. "So you're condemning one of those kids to die based on random choice."

An awkward silence filled the room, Race looked completely uncomfortable, Romeo had closed her eyes, Blink had turned back to the file on the table and Mush was staring at the four with a wide gaze. Spot finally replied after a few minutes. "I guess I am."

* * *

David stared at Spot steadily, the Chairman of the hospital, Bill Hearst was standing next to him. "So you are going to flip a coin? That's how you decide which baby lives?"

"Do you have a quarter?" Spot knew that Bill was going to explain about the legal repercussions.

"Do you want to get sued and lose your license, Spot?" Bill asked rhetorically. "The hospital attorneys would have applauded about that but my job is to protect the hospital. I strongly advise that you find a medical reason for why baby A should get medicine X and vice-versa."

"Your advice is that I use a medical reason to make a medical decision. That's not going to be easy..." Spot trailed off as he stared at the two administrators.

"Any medical justification. It doesn't need to be good one, you just need to find one." Bill didn't want the hospital to lose Soot as he was one of best experts in infectious diseases in the world even if he was an ass.

"Well, Autumn sounds Christian. So does Atzrenonam, so we'll take the Autumn kid off Vancomycin. How's that sound?"

"You can't just experiment on children!" David exclaimed as it seemed that Bill wouldn't say anything about the comment.

"Doctors experiment all the time." Spot pointed out as he swallowed two pills.

"On adults...with their consent."

"Their informed consent. They have to know that the other kid is getting a different treatment."

"Can't do that. It's unethical for one patient to know about another patient's treatment." Spot was surprised to see that Bill had smiled at him after he had said that.

"They have a right to know." Spot immediately caught the meaning behind those words. Bill wanted him to know that the attorneys had forced him to bring that up.

"If they know them they won't consent. That defeats the entire purpose."

"That's their right."

Spot stood up from the couch that he was sat on. "Two more babies have become symptomatic. I defer to your legal wisdom: what takes precedence? Six dying babies or a missing consent form?"

"You can't do it." David sighed as he rubbed his face as he listened to the conversation.

Bill looked like he was having a hard time deciding on what to say, finally he said to Spot. "Do what you believe is best. I'll deal with the fallout should one child die, just try your best to save both."

Spot nodded, he really didn't want Bill to lose his job because of one of the doctors he protected for ages. He left the office before the argument could start up again.

* * *

"Find anything yet?" Katherine asked as she walked up to David, who was directing his team again.

"No. Just some baby formula being stored under a sink with a dripping faucet." David still wasn't sure what angle Bill was playing at by siding with Spot but he guessed it was something he was keeping to himself.

"Tap water contamination. You thinking pseudomonas infection?"

"I was. I wasted a couple of hours chasing it down." David sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "But the formula hasn't been anywhere near the babies."

Katherine mentally crossed pseudomonas from a list of causes in her mind. "Hmm. So that means that if it is pseudomonas then it wasn't tap water contamination."

"Whatever idiot stored them there-" David growled which made Katherine place a hand on his shoulder.

Katherine knew that Sarah would prefer that her brother doesn't die from stress or anger. "All right, we'll figure it out! Just calm down."

"I am calm.' Dvaid grabbed a pair of scissors and walked over to a student, whose tie looked annoying to him. He cut if off before turning to Katherine and growling. "I did that calmly. Very calmly."

"Course you did." Katherine pulled her brother-in-law into the NICU before he could but anything else off from the students.

* * *

Spot walked into the NICU and stopped next to Katherine, who was watching the Autumn baby from a window.

"Heart rate's over 180!" Romeo called as he, Race and Albert entered the room where the Autumn baby was in.

"They start the levofed?"

"They just started." Katherine answered quickly as they continued to keep watching the baby.

"Still dropping. 50 over 10." Race explained quickly as he checked over the baby.

"Can't hold BP wih three pressers? We're losing pulse." Albert looked at Race, who was focusing in the baby.

"V-fib."

Spot and Katherine made their way into the room as Katherine ordered. "Close the blinds."

Romeo did so as Katherine and Race prepared the defibrillator. "Charging, clear." Race pressed the defibrillator down onto the baby's chest.

"Still v-fib." Albert informed him quickly as he looked at the heart monitor.

"Charging, clear." He pressed the defibrillator down again. "Charging, clear."

"Still v-fib."

"Charging, clear." Race pressed the defibrillator down once again. "Charging-"

"Race." Spot paused as he stared at the baby. "Time of death: 7:56 PM. The Aztereonam doesn't work. Double-cover all the other babies with Vancomycin."

"I'll do it." Race whispered to which Spot nodded slowly.

"Romeo, tell the parents. Tell them their child saved five lives."

"Shouldn't Race-" Romeo began but was interrupted quickly.

"Race is busy." Spot growled.

"You're the attending."

Spot turned to Katherine and whispered. "Make sure he does the job."

* * *

"I told you to make sure he does his job not do it for him." Spot grumbled

Katherine protested as they walked out of the elevator. "He froze up."

"He felt sorry for the parents so he shut up. You felt sorry for him and so you opened your mouth."

"He has a problem." Katherine stopped Spot from walking off to his office as he would do when they argued.

"Yeah, he needs to deal with it. If you hadn't bailed him out then he would have done it." Soot swallowed two pills as he waited for Katherine to make her next point.

"Then he wouldn't have slept for two weeks. Maybe he should be thinking about another speciality. Lab work? Research?" Katherine stopped as Blink walked up to them.

"The Samson baby, she's getting sicker too. The Vancomycin isn't working either."

* * *

Spot, Race, Romeo, Albert, Blink and Elmer were all sat in the main office late a night when Spot said. "Vancomycin doesn't kill it. Atzreonam doesn't kill it. What is going on?"

Elmer suggested as he tried to not fall asleep, they had been in the office for the past few hours. "It's a super bug."

"It could be VRSA." Race had already had around three cups of coffee to keep himself away, everyone had had around the same amount. Spot was the only one that hadn't touched the coffee at all.

"There's only been two reported cases in the United States." Albert had placed his head on the table and was half asleep.

"One of the kids, the Lyon baby, had a skin rash. It could be scaled-skin syndrome, which would be a symptom of VRSA." Blink was already missing his bed and his coffee.

"Then these kids are dead." Romeo leaned back into his chair and tried to not let his exhaustion overwhelm him.

"This is our fault. Doctors are over-prescribing antibiotics. Got a cold? Take some penicillin. Sniffles? No problem. Have some azithromycin. Is that not working anymore? You have your Levaquin. Antibacterial soaps in every bathroom, we'll be adding Vancomycin to the water supply soon. We bred these super bugs and they're our babies. Now they're all grown up dn they've go body piercings and a lot of anger. On the other hand, maybe antibiotics had absolutely nothing to do with it. Did you notice how low her BP was at the end? Even with the pressers?" Spot sighed, he was twirling his cane and wasn't showing any signs of exhaustion.

"Heart damage?" Elmer asked was he stared at his boss.

"Go home. There's nothing more you can do tonight." All of the team groaned as they stood up and left Spot to his own thoughts.

* * *

"This is a cross-section of the Autumn girl's mycocardium. Fibrosis, lymphocydic infiltrates." Spot pointed at several scans of the baby.

"There was no sign of lymphcytosis in the blood tests." JoJo pointed out, it was only him, Mush, David, Specs and Katherine who were in the office now. The others were back at home, catching up on sleep after their late night meeting.

"Yes, well, we all had plenty of good reasons to think bacterial. Nobody is scolding you." Spot handed his cane to JoJo, who took it with a confused expression. "Unfortunately, all of those clever reasons were wrong. It is a virus infecting their hearts."

"We're screwed. We can't chase down a virus: there are thousands of possibilities. We wouldn't be able to find the right one in time." Specs muttered without looking up from the table.

"We could run gels, antibody tests." JoJo replied quickly.

"Specs, you're the Immunologist. How many could we do before we risk exsanguinating the kids?"

"You're talking vials, not stick tests? I wouldn't take more than five or six."

Spot wrote 'virus' in the middle of the board. "Now, we have to narrow a thousand viruses down to six. The autopsy shows us what the virus does. So, let's go. What do we now?"

"Ribavirin and encyclovir don't knock it out." Katherine answered after she thought about it for a few seconds.

David added. "Cross out the herpes virus."

"Also adenovirus." Spot started to make a T-chart on the board. "What else? Keep talking."

"It only seems to hit children, the mothers aren't sick either so..."

"No toxoplasmosis, no rubella. Cross out the entire TORCH syndrome." Mush said as he started looking through the symptoms of the babies.

"You didn't find any lung damage?" Katherine asked Spot.

"No."

"None of the paramyxovirdaet then."

"Cardiac scarring."

"CMV?"

"Enteroviruses, too."

"Echo 11."

"Influenza A."

Spot muttered. "Influ A. And?" He was writing all the suggestions down and ticking or crossing them if they could fit. "I'm putting RMV down as a yes. That makes eight."

"Eight vials of blood is pushing it." Specs warned, he didn't want to kill a child by taking too much blood.

"Pushing it, but we love that! Get the antibody kits, start testing the sick kids." Spot ordered before pointing at Katherine and Specs. "You two start looking into antivirals for these eight."

Katherine grabbed Specs and pulled him out of the room to follow the instructions. Spot turned to David and asked. "The healthy kids, are any of them still in the hospital?"

"They got moved to the fifth floor. But they're probably all checked out by now." Katherine poked her head back in to answer before disappeared again.

"No, the Lindhurst boy had a bit of jaundice. He should be checking out today." David informed him as he wondered why Spot was asking.

"I want to test his blood."

"Why?"

"Cause we need all the information we can get. The healthy kid can be our control group."

"I'll just tell his parents that he can't check out because he has the smallpox." David sighed before leaving the office to carry that out.

* * *

Spot looked up from his desk as JoJo and Elmer entered the office. "What did we get?"

"The sick babies all tested positive for Echovirus 11." JoJo told him as he put the test results on the desk.

"Great."

"And CMV. And parvovirus B19."

Spot narrowed his eyes as he asked. "Three viruses?"

"The healthy kid we tested was positive for Echovirus 11 and CMV." Elmer explained quickly as he knew that Spot would be trying to put the pieces together.

"They're infants. They have their mother's blood, their mother's antibodies." Spot started twirling his cane as he leaned back in his chair.

"So we learned nothing?"

"We have half the picture. The healthy kids survived because their mother's antibodies saved them."

JoJo leaned forward as he said. "The mom had CMV in the past so she'd have the antibodies for them, the kids would be immune for it. So we test the mothers for Echovirus, parvovirus and CMV."

"And whichever one they don't have antibodies for is the one that is killing their kids."

"I'll test the mothers." Elmer sighed before leaving the office again.

* * *

Spot walked into his office where Romeo was working away quietly. "They all gone?" He asked the younger doctor.

"The Samsons are checking out now." Romeo answered quietly, JoJo had informed him that it had turned out to be the Echovirus all along.

"You look tired."

"Thanks."

"It's no wonder. You have had a hard time the past few days."

Romeo looked up from the paperwork that he was filling out. "And you haven't?"

"Not like you. I do know that someone who is that awkward around death has either had no experience with death or they have had too much. I'm sure that it isn't the former." Romeo started to pull on his jacket after checking his watch. "Race told me about the idea you had; the parents holding the baby. Where'd you get that from? Did you lose someone? Lose a baby?"

"You can be a real bastard." Romeo walked out of the office after slamming his paperwork on Spot's desk. Spot just stood there with a tiny smirk as he knew why Romeo was uncomfortable around death.

* * *

Race walked into the waiting room as Katherine had told him that Spot was sitting in there and she had said that it would be best if it was him to go speak to Spot. "Unfinshed business?"

Spot looked up as Race sat down next to him, he replied after a few minutes. "I'm in the haystack."

"Because you now know you're looking for a needle." 

"Right." Spot wondered why Race was talking to him but he didn't really mind.

"If I tell you 'let it go' it won't make any difference, will it?" 

"Enteroviruses are spread by humans. Fecal, oral...could be respiratory secretions, though." Spot explained as his rubbed his eyes.

"So, David just got stool samples from the whole staff. Just wait until the results come back."

"That won't do it."

Race asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"The shredder, whoever it is, is so virulent that even Jacobs must have noticed." 

"Yes?"

"And the babies don't share any common personal. That's weird." Spot's eyes were closed as he tried to work it out. 

"Yeah, that's what's weird." Race stood up and left after nodding goodbye. Spot opened his eyes and saw an old woman pushing around a cart and she was giving teddy bears out to the newborns. 

Spot shook his head before standing up and hobbling out of the waiting room after swallowing two pills.


	5. Dammed if You Don't

David closed his eyes as he thought about everything that Spot had just told him. "You diagnosed the patient with allergies and prescribed antihistamine, she went into respiratory distress and you injected her with epinephrine. Presumably 1 cc."

"0.1 cc. That's the standard dose, that's what I gave her." Spot leaned back in his chair as he looked at the Christmas decorations that were hung on the walls of the office. He didn't understand why there were decorations in the office as David celebrated Hanukkah instead.

"People don't go into cardiac arrest from 0.1 cc epinephrine."

"She must have had a pre-existing heart condition that got exacerbated by the epinephrine."

"It's too bad you didn't leave a notation in the chart."

"I can make it up now."

David shook his head as he removed his glasses and then started staring at Spot. "The drawer has syringes with both dosages, you could have reached for the wrong one."

"But I didn't." Spot knew he didn't use the wrong dosage but he could guarantee that David would say it had been a mistake.

"Everyone makes mistakes. This is why doctors pay through the nose for malpractice insurance."

"They won't sue. The worse they'll do is whack my hand with a ruler.'

"And the discipline board? Will they just whack your hand?"

"You're going to report me?" Spot asked in a dangerous voice, he thought that it was a bluff from David. He had seen these bluffs before and hadn't fell for them then so he wouldn't fall for it now.

"What choice do I have?"

"How 'bout not reporting me?"

David looked at the clock on his desk before saying. "I can justify keeping her here for a 24 hour observation. If you haven't found an underlying cause for the cardiac arrest then I will have to notify the Chairman and the attorneys."

Spot checked his watch before walking out of the office to see Albert, Race and Romeo all waiting for him. He gestured for them follow him and they started to walk down a corridor.

"Her hands were red and swollen, it could be a skin infection. Cellulitis? That could manifest with tachycardia." Romeo suggested which made Albert shake his head in disagreement.

"There's no history of fever. Results from the CBC didn't indicate an infection."

"The eosinophils were elevated mildly, SED rate's up a bit. We could be looking at a systemic allergic response." Romeo hoped that Spot would side with him.

Spot shook his head as the neared the diagnostic office. "It isn't allergic. Allergies don't cause cardiac arrest like this. It could be an inflammation of the blood vessels."

"Vasculitus?" Albert knew that was possibility but it was unlikely that it was that. "That wouldn't give you an elevated eosinophil count."

"Churg-Strauss vasculitus would. Blood vessels of the heart, lungs and skin become inflamed causing the asthma, rash and heart problems." They entered the diagnostic office and Spot was surprised that it was completely was deserted. "Where is everyone?"

Race answered quickly after a look from Albert. "Everyone but us has taken time off to spend Christmas with their familes."

"Even Blink?" Blink never took time off even if it was Christmas or his birthday. Race nodded before Spot waved his hand to show he wanted his team to continue.

"We'd need a biopsy to confirm." Romeo pointed out as he started eating one of the candy canes that was in the bowl on the table.

"Chest CT'd be quicker." Race couldn't really blame his colleagues for not wanting to spend Christmas in the hospital with Spot.

"The lady just came in with a rash."Albert took one of the candy canes as well. "Isn't the prognosis for Churg-Strauss a bit grim?"

Romeo nodded as he but his lip. "Yeah. Untreated only 33% of patients survive past a year. Treated then it is five years."

"Then I'd suggest treatment." Spot started pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"If it was any other attending doctor then I'd say he had made a mistake and gave her too much epinephrine." Albert muttered but then noticed that Spot had heard him.

"Saying you wouldn't say it is my mistake then you are saying it was my mistake."

"Everyone screws up: that's your rule. I think that you'll fit in the subset of everyone."

"I didn't screw up." Albert just shook his head. "Order a chest CT and start the sister on prednisone, 40 mg. TID."

"The sister?" Race hoped Spot didn't mean that the patient was a nun.

"Didn't I mention? She's a nun, Sister Monica." Spot hid his smirk as he sipped at his coffee.

"I hate nuns."

Spot just raised his eyebrows before replying. "Who doesn't?"

* * *

Race, Albert and Romeo were all stood in the corridor after explaining to the patient about her medication. "He doesn't know what he is doing. The only problem she has is that Spot grabbed the wrong syringe."

Race smiled, he and Albert had been the first two to join Spot's team a few years ago. Albert had always disagreed with their boss on whatever he said no matter if it turned out to be right.

"You don't trust him?" Romeo didn't see why Albert wouldn't trust Spot as he was one of the most senior members of the team.

"I don't trust a man who won't admit that he might be wrong. I notice that you weren't so quick to tell her that she has Churg-Strauss and only has a few years to live." Albert turned his glare onto Romeo and it made him step back.

"I don't tell patients bad news unless it's conclusive." Romeo defended himself even though he was the subject of a icy glare.

"Because you know he might be wrong."

"About Churg-Strauss, not about what happened in the clinic."

"What about you, Race? You think he's infallible too?'

Race shrugged as he decided to take the neutral approach. "All I know is that if Spot didn't make a mistake and Sister Monica has Churg-Strauss then he'll be self-satisfied and for a few weeks, our lives will be happy. If Spot did make a mistake then he'll be upset and our lives will be absolutely miserable."

"There is that." Albert agreed as he finally stopped glaring at Romeo. He turned around and walked away down the corridor.

* * *

"If Jacobs thinks that I made a mistake then the least he could do is suspend me from clinic duty." Spot growled as he and Katherine walked into the clinic. He still didn't know why David wanted him to carry on with clinic duty.

"He doesn't confuse making a mistake with incompetence." Katherine pointed out as she noticed that Spot really didn't want to do clinic duty today.

"Here we go. Lesson time, I recognise that confidence is not my strong suit. I also recognise that I am human and capable of human error."

"So you might have screwed this up?"

"No."

"So, it's only a theoretical capacity for error."

"Good point. Maybe there isn't one, maybe that's my error."

"Most people who think as much of themselves as you do, like to talk about themselves."

"Most people don't like to listen, so what's wrong with you?" Spot left Katherine standing in the clinic before making his way into exam room 1. He sniffed the air as he entered before saying. "Let me guess...inflammatory bowel."

"Is it that bad?" The man dressed as Santa Claus asked.

"Yes. It's also written on your chart. Bloody diarrhoea, gas, pain...took sulfasalazine, but it didn't work."

"No, then I-"

"Next tried steroid enemas, oral corticosteroids, 5ASAs, 6 mercaptopurine. I'm very impressed." Spot commented as he continued to read through the chart.

"By my medical history?" Santa looked shocked as he asked that.

"No by how well your last doctor charted."

"It's one thing to go to the toilet every hour but when the kids sit on my lap. The store sent me home and they're gonna fire me. Can't you put me back on 5ASA? Maybe it'll work this time?"

Spot started to write down a prescription. "Not likely. I'm writing you a prescription. It's cheap, which is good because your insurance company won't pay for it."

The Santa took the prescription and put his glasses on to read it. "Cojorius?"

"Cigarettes. One twice a day, no more, no less. Studies have shown that cigarette smoking is one of the most effective ways to control inflammatory bowel, plus it's been established that it makes you 30% cooler."

"Are you kidding me?"

"About the looking cooler, yeah. The rest of it is true."

"Isn't it addictive and dangerous?"

"Most of the drugs that I prescribe are addictive and dangerous. The only difference is that this one is completely legal." Spot started to hobble out of the exam room. "Oh, Merry Christmas."

* * *

Albert handed the results from the CT scan to Spot before saying. "Patient tested positive for herpetic encephalitis."

"That tells us?" Spot looked through the scan carefully so he didn't miss any details.

"Her immune system is severely compromised." Romeo answered, he still wasn't sure if this was Spit's fault or not.

"Prednisone compromises the immune system. Isn't that the medicine that you gave her for the thing she doesn't have?" David asked as he stared at Spot. He was so close to just removing Spot from the case and getting the attorneys prepared.

"Yeah. But that's a trick question!" Spot turned to the board and started twirling his cane. He wouldn't admit that he had made a mistake because he knew that he hadn't.

"Her immune system is severely compromised. Two doses of prednisone wouldn't do that."

Spot nodded gratefully at Romeo as listened to what David was saying. "So you based your diagnosis on a adverb?"

"In ten seconds I am going to announce that I gave her the wrong drug in the clinic."

"You're going to admit to negligence?" David was floored he didn't actually think that Spot would admit to it.

"Unless you leave the room. If you don't then you'll have to testify." David stayed sitting down so Spot continued. "Five, four, three, two, one. Can't say I didn't warn you, so I was in the clinic, drunk. Then I opened the drawer with my eyes closed and grabbed the first syringe that I could." David glared at him before storming out of the room. The team were trying to hold in their laughter. "What are the options for the compromised immune system?"

"Mixed connective tissue disease. It'd explain why she was feeling better on the prednisone." Race couldn't believe that Spot had actually did that but he didn't know why he was so surprised. He was the most senior member of the team as he joined around five years ago.

"Sure, she was feeling better right up to the moment it almost killed her." Albert wished that the other fellows were here, Blink would probably give advice that Spot would follow and Elmer would try to stop the argument between Spot and David.

Spot used his cane to point on the hand. "On the other hand, it explains the symptoms. Swollen hands, pulmonary problems, cardiac problems. It all fits."

"Except her ANA was normal."

"So redraw the blood."

"But the treatment is corticosteroids, prednisone and we can't go there because of the encephalitis."

"Then we'll treat it with something that modulates the immune system but doesn't suppress it. Hyperbaric oxygen chamber."

"There is no protocol for putting a patient in a high-pressure oxygen chamber to treat autoimmune problems." Albert had always disagreed with Spot since he joined the team four years ago.

"Oh, you people always with the protocol. Prep the nun and discontinue the prednisone. " Race dragged Romeo out of the office as Spot turned to Albert. "I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn then you are.'

Albert couldn't tell if it was a compliment or an insult. "You are aware of the Hippocratic Oath, aren't you?"

"The one that starts with: do no harm. Then goes on to tell us no abortions, no seductions and no cutting of those who labour beneath the stone. Read it once, wasn't impressed."

Albert actually expected Spot to say something like that. "Hyperbaric treatments could cause oxygen toxicity, lung and eye damage-"

Spot interrupted as he rubbed everything that was written on the board off. "Every treatment has its dangers-"

"Which is why we treat when we're only convinced the patient needs treatment."

"I'm convinced. You're not. The question is what are you going to do about it?"

Albert knew what he was going to do and he knew that Spot knew what he was going to do.

* * *

"Mixed connective tissue disease? Her ANA is barely elevated!" David and Spot were walking down one of the many corridors of the hospital.

"Thanks for checking up on her. It's good to know that you have my back." Spot knew that Albert had told him but he wasn't angry in fact he approved of it.

"0-2 stat is down to 83, pulmonary problems, breathing problems-"

"Irritation from the oxygen is typical."

"She comes in with a rash and you give her cardiac arrest."

"That well will just never run dry, will it?" Spot swallowed two pills. "If there was no underlying problem then why is she still having the rapid heart rate?"

"Maybe from herpetic encephalitis...caused by you giving her prednisone!" David was trying in vain to try and persuade Spot.

"Her reaction is a symptom, not an error."

"There's always an explanation, isn't there?"

"Yes, there is!" Spot.growled as he swung his cane around. "And if this one doesn't work then I'll find another."

"But never one involving you screwing up."

"One that fits all the facts. We obviously have a difference of opinion, and that's fine, but unfortunately I've used all the time I budgeted today for banging my head against the wall."

David spun around and said in a deathly quiet tone. "I am going to do you the biggest favour one doctor can do for another, I'm going to stop tou from killing a patient. You're off the case."

Spot watches as other man walked off and he questioned if Albert wanted this to happen or not.

* * *

Albert, Race and Romeo were stood in front of David's desk as they listened to him say. "We're going to treat the symptoms."

"Not the underlying condition?" Romeo didn't understand why they should do that and why Spot had been removed from the case.

"There is no underlying condition. What's her status?"

Race shared an uncertain look with Albert before answering. "The sister's breathing is laboured."

"Pneumonitis from the hyperbaric chamber. Put her on 40% oxygen until her 0-2 stats increase."

"BUN and creatinine's rising, ALT and AST are twice the normal range."

David ordered after considering the matter. "Could be from the hypersensitive episode. Let's follow it with labs."

"She still has the rash and joint pain she came in with." Albert pointed out he regretted telling David as it led to Spot being removed from the case.

"Order a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory."

"When we were looking at the differential diagnosis with Dr. Conlon, we were-" Romeo tried to explain but was interrupted.

"I don't need to hear what Dr. Conlon was considering. All of this woman's symptoms can be traced to his considerations. Let's just get this woman healthy, I want her going out the front door. Not the back." David raised his hand and gestured for the three to leave.

When they had left the office, Albert said apologeticly. "I didn't mean to betray him. He would have found our about the hyperbaric treatments anyway."

"You did what you had to." Race replied before he and Romeo walked away, leaving Albert standing by himself.

* * *

Race entered Spot's office with his pager out. "My mother's been dead for twelve years."

"But she's with you in spirit." Spot stopped bouncing a tennis ball as he turned to look at Race. "What do you know about the nun?"

"Which one?"

"The cute one, I think she likes me. The sick one, obviously." Spot stared at him like he thought that Race was stupid.

"Her parents died when she was a child and she's been with the Church ever since."

"What's she lying about?"

Race looked confused as he asked. "What do you mean?"

"I always say and think that. And the old nun says that the sick nun is a big fat liar. You know nuns, what do you think?"

"I don't know nuns."

"You hate nuns. You can't hate someone if you don't know them." Spot pointed that out quickly.

"Know any Nazis? I hate them on principle." Race retorted which made Spot smirk.

"I have a theory on what makes good boys 'good' . It's not because of some moral imperatives. Good boys have the fear of God put into them. The Catholic Church specializes in that kind of training, to make good boys afraid of divine retribution so they will do what their daddies tell them, for example, going into medical school when it's the last thing they want to do. What do you think?"

"I think that if she had a secret then her boss would know." Race left before they could continue to argue about it.

* * *

David and the other three doctors were sat in his office again. "Any change with medication?"

"She's getting worse, lung function's deteriorating, BUN and creatinine are continuing to rise. She's starting to run a fever and the rash is spreading. At this rate she won't make it to Christmas." Romeo reported as he handed over the file.

"Maybe Spot was right. Maybe there is some underlying condition that explains the symptoms, something we haven't considered." Race would always side with Spot as he had since he had been hired.

"Like what?"

"It could be metabolic disorder."

"Specifically?"

"Mitogenetic."

"Specifically?"

"I'm just saying-"

"That you think Spot is right." David accused as he stared straight at Race.

Race sighed as he replied. "Might be right."

"Of course he might be right! It might be the Hand of God at work. Don't say it's something else unless you've got something concrete to offer." David jumped put of his seat as a teabag was thrown on to his desk. "What's this, hemlock?"

"'I'm going to do you the biggest favour that a doctor can can do another, I'm going to stop you from killing your patient.' It's figwort tea, great for that little pick-me up we're all looking for in the morning." Spot moved forward into the office. "Opens the lungs, increases the blood pressure , stimulates the heart. Unfortunately, if you then get injected with even 0.1 cc of epinephrine: instant cardiac arrest. Still, what the hell, tastes good."

"Sister Monica-"

"Has been drinking it religiously so to speak."

Albert bowed his head as he groaned. "Take the cardiac arrest out of the equation and it-"

"All the other symptoms can be explained by a severe long-term allergic reaction."

"Which is what Romeo in the beginning."

"So he did, well done." Spot nodded at Romeo, who smiled back. "But your unwillingness to stand by your diagnosis almost killed this woman. Take a lesson from Albert: stand up for what you believe in. Now, let's go figure out how to save a nun."

Race murmured as they made their way to the diagnostic office. "Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't."

"Because it's been untreated for so long, it's gone from a simple watery eyes, scratchy throat allergy to a whooping I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass allergy. Which compromised her immune system, diminished her ability to heal and broke down her organ system. So what's the cause?"

"The dish soap." Romeo answered as they entered the diagnostic office.

"No, symptoms persisted days after the dishwashing episode. It has to be something that she was exposed to here in the hospital as well as the monastery." Spot started writing on the white board.

"What about the tea? It caused her arrhythmia." Albert suggested. He knew that if the rest of the team was here then they would have figured it out a lot sooner.

"Could be, but it's not definitive."

Race rubbed his eyes before saying. "We'll skin test for allergens."

"She's too reactive. She'd test positive for everything. We need to stabilise her, isolate her from all possible allergens. Give her system a rest."

"Get her in a clean room then."

Spot turned around as he finished writing on the board. "Okay. And we'll gradually introduce allergens and see how she responds. When she reacts to something we'll know what is killing her."

* * *

Spot and Katherine stared down st the clean room through an observation room. It seemed that the sister was in anaphylactic shock. "How do you get an allergic reaction in a clean room?"

Katherine shrugged before replying. "Maybe it was the preservatives in the IV?"

"Checked that."

"Latex tubing?"

"Checked that. Checked everything."

"It could be mast-cell leukemia. It can cause anaphylaxis."

"Checked the blood levels. And it's not eosinophilia or idiopathic anaphylasix."

"Maybe it's divine will." Katherine didn't really believe that but she had to suggest everything.

Spit swallowed two pills of Vicodin. "It's not my will."

"You do realise that if you're wrong, about the big picture, then you are going to burn, right?"

"What do you want me to do? Accept it without objection?"

"I want you to accept that sometimes die against all reason. Sometimes they get better against all reason." Katherine wanted to try and make Spot understand that.

"No, they don't. We just don't know the reason."

"I don't think the nuns would agree with you then." Katherine walked away, leaving Spot staring down at the clean room.

* * *

"We looked everywhere for an allergen that could be causing this reaction apart from one place: inside her." Spot explained as he and his team walked down the corridor.

"On her medical history she didn't mention any surgeries." Albert had went over the medical history with a fine-tooth comb and hadn't found any mention of a surgery.

"She had one." Spot was sure that she had one ut they just had to find out where she had one.

"Can we get her records? What hospital did she have it at?" Race was already scribbling down on to a pad he had always made notes on notepads since he first became a doctor.

"She didn't have it at a hospital. Order a full body scan."

"What if she refuses?"

"Then tell her I'm looking for a miracle."

Race nodded before leading Albert and Romeo in a different direction.

* * *

Spot looked at the X-rays before finally saying. "The copper cross, a type of birth control pulled of the markets in the 80s."

"So, she's allergic to copper." Albert stated after looking at the X-rays himself.

"Rare, but it happens."

"Wouldn't she know that she has an IUD?" Race asked he didn't know how the sister could have not known.

"She had an abortion and the IUD was left in. It was embedded in the endometrial tissue, which meant that it couldn't be detected."

"So we have to removed the IUD." Race left the room after Spot nodded to get the right medicine to heal the sister.

* * *

Katherine took a seat in front of Spot, who was playing with his tennis ball again. "The Sixth Circle of Hell."

"Confined in a sweat box with a bloody nose and the tissues are all soggy." Spot answered immediately.

"I think that's the Seventh."

"Nope. The Seventh is-"

"We must be fun at parties." Katherine knew how Spot would spend his Christmas, he would spend it alone like he always had since he became a doctor.

"We both know the flaw in the theory."

"How's the Sister?"

"Kidneys functioning, heart rate is normal. You know how it is with nuns: you take out their IUDs and they jump right back." Spot placed the tennis ball on his desk before closing his eyes.

"Great."

"Told you I didn't screw up."

"You screwed up."

"I gave her 0.1 cc of epinephrine."

"And if David hadn't taken you off the case then you would have killed her." Katherine paused before offering. "You want to come over for Christmas dinner?"

"Your wife is Jewish."

"Hanukkah dinner then. David and Jack will be there as well. What do you care? It's food and people."

"No thank you." Spot was going to spend Christmas alone like he had always done and he wouldn't change it at all.

"Maybe I'll come to your place."

"Your wife wouldn't mind?"

"If I tell her why then she wouldn't mind." Katherine knew that Sarah worried about Spot after meeting him for the first time.

Bill entered the office and said to Spot with a nod. "Good work with the nun, David told me what you did. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Merry Christmas then Dr. Plumber, Dr. Conlon." Bill left without saying anything else.

Katherine stood up and was about to leave before she turned around and implored. "No one should spend Christmas alone. If you want my company don't hesitate to ask."

Spot looked up but he didn't meet Katherine's eyes. Race was standing at the glass door with a small smile. He wonderd if he should follow Katherine's advice and not spend Christmas alone.

* * *

Albert would dress up as Santa Claus and attend the Christmas party for the sick kids as he did every year since he had started working at the hospital. He never missed a Christmas and he wouldn't miss this one.

Romeo would spend his Christmas at the hospital as his parents never wanted him to come back home after he became a doctor. He didn't know why but he was grateful for it.

Katherine knew that when she left the hospital that Spot and Race would spend Christmas together. She knew that they both had neglectful parents and she wondered if that would bring them closer together.

David would go home to attend the Hanukkah dinner that Sarah hosted every year and he was forced to go along even if he didn't want to. So he would be surprised that when he got home to find that Jack had been able to make up an excuse so that they could celebrate together.

Race was surprised that Spot had asked him if he wanted to spend Christmas with him. Race accepted and the two men would eat Christmas dinner together at Race's apartment. When he left the apartment, Race was hopeful that they could do it every year.

Bill didn't normally celebrate Christmas but for everything that had happened this year he thought it was a good idea. His boyfriend, Finch Cortes would be waiting for him at home so they could celebrate the holiday together.

Spot was hopeful for the new year after spending Christmas with Race. He had always wondered what if felt like to spend Christmas with another adult but now he supposed he had got his answer. So he was hopeful for the new year.


	6. The Socratic Method

Race watched as Spot whispered to himself while writing on the white board. It seemed like something weird was happening with the team as the only person to return from their holiday was Blink and he didn't know anything about what was happening. It also seemed like that Spot didn't have a single clue about it either.

"Thirty-eight year old woman with no previous symptoms or history presents with deep vein thrombosis. So how did she get it?" Spot finally asked after staring at the board.

"Oral contraceptives , smoking diabetes, obesity, and what's the point here? A DVT is a DVT. Put her on IV heparin to prevent future clots. What's the big mystery?" Albert pushed the file towards Blink as he was the one to probably know what the mystery was. It felt weird that quite a few of the chairs at the table were empty.

"You're all sleeping. You need a clue." Spot circled '38yo' on the board. "She's 38 years old! She's twenty years too young to get a deep vein thrombosis."

"I treated a twelve year old girl once, soccer player, she got kicked in the leg..."

"There was no trauma, none of the risk factors."

Romeo didn't know how Spot would know that as he would had to have taken a medical history. "Did you take a history then?"

"I..have some notes. They aren't mine, but they're reliable, I think, for the purposes of this discussion. As for the immobility, she's real active right now, of course. Paranoia keeps her limber." Spot looked down at the notes that he had taken from the patient's son.

"Paranoia?" Blink looked up from the file he would say that woman had schizophrenia.

"She's a schizophrenic. And her kid wrote this." Spot lifted the notebook from the table. "So it might be a little biased. Having to take care of his nutso mom and all, you think there is a connection? Should we include schizophrenia in the differential for DVT?"

"Well..."

"The answer is no. Abnormal dopaminergic pathways in the brain do not cause blood clots. Schizophrenia is not the cause of DVT." Spot explained before looking at his pager before walking out of the office without saying anything else.

* * *

Spot and Katherine made their way into the Reid Wing where his new patient was staying in. "On the other hand, we don't know anything about schizophrenia so it could be connected."

"The schizophrenia does explain one thing - why you are so interested in a woman with a bump in her leg. It's like Picasso deciding to whitewash a fence. Or Beethoven starting to design buildings."

"Thanks. I'm more of a Van Gogh and Bach man." Spot just had to correct Katherine as he didn't like people thinking that he likes other artists and composers. "And is it only about the DVT? She's thirty-eight years old, she should be-"

"Solve this one and you'll be on your way to Stockholm." Katherine started looking through the paperwork at the nurse's station.

"We don't know how to treat it! Come on! Fumigation of the vagina?!"

Katherine laughed as she stared to walk down the corridor. "A little louder- I don't think everyone heard you."

"Two thousand years ago, that's how Galen treated schizophrenics- the Marcus Welby of ancient Greece." Spot called back as he swallowed two pills.

"Clearly you're not interested."

"I'm interested. I'm interested in how the voices in the head could be caused by malposition of the uterus."

"There's a better place for it?" Katherine was confused about why Spot thought the uterus could have anything to do with it.

"And now what do we have? We've got lobotomies, rubber rooms, electric shook - my - Galen was so primitive." Spot shook his head as he caught up to his friend. He was still confused over where most of his team was. He was just happy that Blink had returned as he was one of the best doctors in the hospital.

Katherine stopped as Spot walked ahead of her. "Where are you going?"

"Going to see the patient. That all-important human connection. Thought that I'd give it a whirl."

"You won't talk to patients because they lie, but give you a patient with a concept of no reality..." Katherine trailed off as she realised what Spot had meant.

"If it wasn't for Socrates, that untreated raving schizophrenic, then we wouldn't have the Socratic method - the best way of teaching everything, apart from juggling with chainsaws. Without Isaac Newton then we'd be floating on the celling."

"No doubt, dodging chainsaws."

"And that guitar player in that English band- he was great." Spot stopped in front of his patient's room. "You think that I'm interested because of the schizophrenia."

"I'm pretty sure you are." Katherine could guarantee that was why Spot was interested. She was the woman to know him the best and that included his preferences and who he liked.

"Galen was pretty sure about the fumigation thing." He was about to enter the room before he turned around. "Pink Floyd - that was it."

Spot entered the room as the boy, Leon said. "Mom, this is Dr-"

"Spot Conlon - pleasure to meet you." He turned to Leon. "Do you think that we can speak alone for awhile?"

"You're gonna need me to-"

Spot showed hin the notebook. "Got your case notes...doctor. There's a cafeteria downstairs." He pulled out a bill. "Get yourself whatever you want as long as there is enough left over for a cheese sandwich, no toppings with fries. Should run you around $6.45 with tax." Leon took the money as Spot pulled his pager of his belt and handed it to him. "I'll page you when we're done. "

He leaves and Spot moved to sit down next to the woman, Lila. She whispered. "No..pickles."

"Nice kid. So how much do you really drink?"

* * *

"He's actually talking to a patient." Albert breathed as he and Race watched Spot speak to Lila. Out of their combined years of working for I'm this surprised them.

"I don't know who I am anymore." The mystery of what was happening to their team wa pushed out of the Italian's mind as he watched his boss.

"It's a blood clot. What's so fascinating about that?"

"He likes crazy people. Likes the way they think."

"They think..badly. That is the literal definition of deranged. Why would he like-"

"They aren't boring. That's why he likes them so much." The two fell into silence as they watched and listened to the conversation.

"I thought that he liked rationality." Albert said after they listened to the conversation even more.

"He likes puzzles." Katherine walked up to the two men and tried to not laugh when she noticed that she had made them jump.

"Patients are puzzles?" Albert looked at Race, who shrugged in reply to the question.

"You don't think so?"

Albert shook his head, he didn't really think that. "I think they're people."

"Yeah. Well, he hates them, and he's fascinated by them. Tell me you can't relate to that symptom." Katherine said before walking away and leaving the two men alone.

After a few more minutes, Spot had joined the other two and Katherine had reappeared. "Did you learn anything from the 'human connection'?"

"Yes. She hates the Mets. For the past two months, she hasn't shaved her legs. The tremors...they make her cut herself."

"The tremors aren't new so she must have always cut herself." Race nodded along as he tried to not shiver from the cold.

"Exactly. Something had to have changed in the last two months. I'm thinking that the amount of blood when she cut herself. So we start simple so check the blood. Collect and send for clotting studies, PT, PTT, protein C & S, everything." Spot was already thinking about what they could do.

"Good luck." Katherine walked away again and left the ward as she had several patients of her own to see to.

Leon walked up to Spot and handed over the food he had asked to get. "No toppings but it's cold."

"If it's cheese then you're fine." Albert wondered how hard it must be for the boy having to take care of himself and his mother.

"This is Leon."

Albert was about to introduce himself but Spot waved his hand to stop him. "Save it, we're busy. Leon, give us another half an hour with your mom, we need to run some tests." The boy walked away again. "Nice kid. Take her off the psych meds, that way we'll know what's what on the physical side. And we might get more out of her." Albert walked away while Race stayed next to Spot, who had started to eat the sandwich. "No toppings."

"Happy Birthday." Race decided to take a chance as he had found out Spot's birthday when he went over to his for Christmas.

"Whose?"

"I saw it when I was over at yours for Christmas. So Happy Birthday."

Spot looked taken aback as he watched Race follow Albert down the corridor.

* * *

"Good news, the lab says it isn't strep." Spot announced as he entered the exam room. "So we're done."

The mom looked up from the magazine that she was reading. "Wait a second-"

"No, really, not strep. The boys in the lab are hard drinkers but they're pros. Your kid doesn't have any of the symptoms of strep either. So I figured that it would be easier to run the test then argue. My point is - go!"

"I wanted to ask your opinion. She's having a birthday party next week and she's upset that I'm getting a sugar less cake."

The daughter cried. "The other kids hate it!"

"That's why you are here." Spot thought some days that David must have hated him and that's why he had to deal with patients like this.

"Sugar is the leading cause of obesity in America."

"You want a doctor to scare her about the dangers of sugar."

"She needs to get her weight under control." The mom defended herself.

Spot closed the exam room door before sighing. "You know...I feel bad for the other kids, who don't have a mother like yours. A mom who knows that sugar causes diabetes, appendicitis and athlete's foot."

"That's not fair."

"It is fair. I get it, you want her to slim down so that she can wear pretty clothes like you. Love the bracelets. What about matching outfits? You can be twins! She can't be you daughter, you look too young." Spot started to leave the room. "Just give the kid a dammed cake."

When he exited the room, he saw that Leon was waiting for him, the boy accused. "You drugged her!"

"I didn't. I took her off all medication." Spot started walking towards the reception.

"Your guy, DaSilva gave her Haldol."

"We needed blood for tests. That was the only way that we could get it."

"He knocked her out."

"Lool, I have a cane." Spot spun around so that he was facing Leon. "And I know how to use it."

"I hired you so you work for me now."

"Can I go now? Boss?" Spot couldn't believe that the boy had actually said that. It would allow him go have some fun with David though so that was a pro.

"The Haldol changes her. It makes her soul numb so don't give her it."

Spot just ignored him and continued walking away from Leon as he considered what he had just been told.

* * *

Albert was staring at Spot, who was trying his absolute best to hold in his anger. "When I told you no psych meds - which words did you not understand?"

"The Haldol had nothing to do with bleed. I used it as a chemical restraint."

"That's good to hear. So she won't experience any of those pesky little side effects when your motives...AREN'T AS PURE!"

Albert rushed to explain so he could actually defend himself. "Those side effects are so rare!"

"Passing out, increased confusion, depression, that isn't going to happen. It isn't like that is going to screw up her diagnosis. 'Cause you just used it to restrain her. That makes me feel so relieved." Spot started pacing around his office as he tried to not let his fury show kn his face.

"She spit in my face." Albert protested. He knew that Race, Romeo and Blink were in the diagnostic office working and trying to not listen.

"It must have been do frightening for you!"

"What was I supposed to do? Tie her down?"

"YEAH! My point is to not give her drugs. That is my entire point." Spot was silent for several seconds before saying. "It turns out that your best judgement isn't good enough. Here's a bit of advice - next time use mine."

Albert followed Spot into the diagnostic office where he asked. "Why did the patient bleed out?"

"The clotting studies are normal so far." Romeo held up a file as Race and Blink looked up from their work.

"Cover your ears if you don't want me to spoil the ending. Everything was normal except for prolonged PT time, which means what?"

Albert replied as he recieved pitying looks from Race and Blink. "It usually means that the person who drew the blood didn't do it right."

"Oh, that's right - 'cause...you drew the blood. But you were precise, because you knew the tube was for the PT study."

"That's right."

Spot nodded before continuing. "And I'm right for you. I trust that result for two reasons a) you are a good doctor and b) because five milligrams of IV Haldol make for a very cooperative patient. The prolonged PT time makes me think that she's got a vitamin K deficiency."

"Vitamin K would explain the bleed but not the clot."

"Without vitamin K, protein C doesn't work. Without protein C, she clots. Clotting and thinning, all at the same time." Spot looked at Romeo as he spoke

"What about another drug interacting with heparin, an antibiotic like ampicillin? That would-"

"Clever, but she isn't on ampicillin."

Romeo looked at Leon's notes before replying. "Two months ago, she complained of a sore throat. He got her ampicillin."

"Which she refused to take."

"He just said that she didn't take it. What is is, everybody lied, apart from schizophrenics and their children."

Race decided to pursue another approach before it could turn into a full-blown argument. "It's more likely then malnutrition. Why not scurvy or the plague?"

"I wish my idea was as cool and with it as yours. What is yours, by the way? Do you have one?" Spot had to stop himself from staring at Race for too long. He kept staring at the Italian's wide eyes.

"Alcohol. It causes immobility, which explains the DVT. It also explains cirrhosis, which explains the bleed and the prolonged PT time. Let's ultrasound the liver."

Spot paused as he considered the theories that he had been given. "Three theories. Check out her place for ampicillin and diet, then ultrasound her liver. Let's find out who's wrong before she bleeds to death."

* * *

Race and Blink made their way up the stairs and to the door that led to the patient's apartment. Race knelt down and began to try and open the door with his credit card.

"So Spot says the kid's sensitive, thinks that he takes good care of her. If we don't find anything, why let him know we did it in the first place? What's the point? Why not just make old Blink," Blink pulled a key from his pocket. "lift the key from the boy's backpack?"

Race took it and unlocked the door, they entered the apartment and started to look around. "Looks like Leon sleeps in the living room."

Blink started to check the bathroom, he opened cupboards and stared to search through the objects in it. Race looked through the drawers that were labelled with the days of the week.

"Nothing in there. He lays out her clothes?" Blink returned from his search in the bathroom.

"With enough organisations, enough lists, you think you can fix the uncontrollable. Fix her meds, fix her clothes, maybe you even think you can fix her." Race picked up a letter that looked like very official. "The son tried his hand at investing through Cortes-Morris it seems. Lost a lot of money though."

"Cortes-Morris? Isn't that a new investment bank that has gained popularity?" Race nodded as Blink found a strong box of medicine. "Trifluo perazine...Thorazine, Forzil- they tried everything - the ampicillin." Blink shook the bottle. "Didn't touch it. There goes Romeo's theory."

"I hope it isn't a vitamin K deficiency." Race stood and the two made their way into the kitchen where they opened the fridge and freezer. "Damn."

Blink stared at the freezer that was filled with frozen burger dinners. "Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Albert won't be happy that Spot was right."

* * *

The microwave beeped and Spot removed the burger from it before sitting down at a table with Leon. "That's the only thing she'll eat."

"The problem is that you can't live on this." Spot gestured at the burger with his hand before he swallowed two pills.

"I checked it out, I looked on the box. All nutritional values were solid. There's plenty of protein and calories.

"Yeah. Vitamin A and C, but no K. That's why your mom got sick."

"So what's the plan?"

"Load her up with vitamin K."

"That's it?"

"If everything checks out then you will probably be able to take her home in a couple of days." Spot started eating the burger before he looked up at Leon. "Oh Yod, you're upset about something. You're going to open up to me now?"

"It's all my fault."

"Here we go." Spot had heard all this before but he still listened. "I going to say this, you have done a good job of taking care of your mom considering your age. If this was all she'd eat, then what else could you do? Just being a kid is a full-time job-"

"Shut up! I'm 18 and I should be able to take care of my mom! I almost killed her."

"Good example. Just the time it takes to express those ridiculous self-centered teenage ideas...I don't envy your schedule."

"Before she got sick, I didn't like how bossy she was, always telling me what to do, the right way to do it. Never actually thought that I'd miss that." Leon picked up his backpack and winced in pain.

"You should get that checked out." Spot said before going back to the burger.

* * *

Spot and the team were in the diagnostic office with ultrasound on the board in front of them. Blink commented. "It's big. 5.8 centimetres."

"We do nothing, then she dies from liver failure in 60 days." Race sighed as he pushed the ultrasounds towards Albert.

"Then she needs a transplant." Albert knew that they would have to involve Katherine in this case as she was the Head of Oncology.

"That's going to happen." Spot snapped sarcastically as he recalled the conversation he had with Leon.

"She's a 38 year old, she's a mother-"

"She's a schizophrenic mother, with no money, in the public dole, who knocks back vodka every time a breeze blows her way." Katherine entered when Spot had finished speaking.

"Mickey Mantle had a whole bar named after him. He got a transplant." Blink pointed out to a glare from his boss.

"Yeah, well, Lila can't switch-hit. Plan B. Surgery to resect the tumour."

"Joe Bergen does the knife thing - laser cauterizes while it cuts, saves more liver."

"The tumour's too big. He won't consider it." Katherine replied firmly.

"Not a big risk taker, Bergen. He won't even drink milk on its expiration date." Albert sighed as he drank some of his coffee.

"He has no discretion. 5.8 centimetres is past the surgical guidelines."

Spot turned to Katherine and asked. "Would he do it at 4.6?"

"Why don't we say that it's zero? Then we wouldn't need him at all, tumours grow, they don't shrink."

Spot turned to Romeo before whispering. "This one does."

* * *

Spot walked into the clinic as David exited his office. "Good morning, Dr. Conlon."

"Good morning, Dr. Jacobs! I have been meaning to talk to you about my team."

"Dr. Meyers is leading the second team of Diagnosis Medicine which has the other members of your team apart from Dr. De la Guerra, who has returned to Pathology. "

"Thanks for that. Now I gotta go." Spot started walking away.

"The clinic can wait."

"For how long?"

"You should know by now that my doctors can't keep secrets from me." David moved further out of his office.

"I don't believe it. Who came running to Daddy?"

"It doesn't matter who, I just want you to know that I know what you did."

Spot recognised the bluff immediately. "You have absolutely no idea of what I've done."

"Somebody knows about a bad thing you did - that's a big field. But somebody you think might have told me, that narrows it down a bit. Somebody who views me as a paternal authority figure. A young person perhaps...How am I doing? You think that I'm going to get there? Presumably hospital business. How many patients-"

"It's Race. He found out about my birthday. I thought that he told you and I'd have to stand here and smile while you gave me a shirt or a fruit basket. So I feel that deep sense of belonging."

"I was just going to remind you that you owe me six hours of clinic duty." David smiled mysteriously before turning around. Spot nodded and walked away as David picked up the reception's phone. "This is Dr. Jacobs, I want all the charts of Dr. Conlon's patients."

* * *

Race looked at Lila as he said. "The surgeon got it all. But she's going to have some chemotherapy."

"What kind?" Leon asked as he started writing in his notebook.

"Leon, stop writing." Race sat down at the table with him. "If you stop for a second, it's not going to fall apart. Give yourself a break once in a while. The fact is, your mother's going to have an extra drink every now and again."

"No, she won't. She doesn't."

"There are just some things you can't fix, that's all I an saying."

"That's how you'd handle it? By giving up?"

"No, I'd do it just like you. It's just an infusion." Race handed over a pamphlet. "She's going to have a drain in her abdomen, so that means you're going to have to check for infections."

The door to the room swung open and a brown haired man forced his way in. "Seitz, Chikd Services. This where Leonard Pesket is?"

"Can I help you? This is a private room." Race stood up and pulled his pager out, ready to page Spot.

"He's only 15 years old, a minor and he's in a tough living situation. We're here to help."

"I don't need your help." Leon snarled as he went to stand next to his mother.

"15?" Race was sure that Spot had said that the boy was 18.

"Leonard, you're coming with us. Right now." Seitz growled.

"Where are you taking him?"

"Until the determination has been made, he'll be housed at Children's Services."

Race decided the best thing to do was to leave the room and go tell Spot, who would know what to do next.

* * *

Katherine and Spot were walking down the corridor after leaving his office. Katherine said. "Schizophrenics can make rational decisions."

"On the small stuff, yeah, when to sleep, what to drink, no lemonade but I'll take some hemlock if you've got it."

"Your man Socrates."

"But giving up your son because it's better for him - it's so sane, so rational. Self-sacrifice if not a symptom of schizophrenia...it excludes the diagnosis." Spot didn't understand it at all.

"She's not schizophrenic?"

"She's 36 years old when she first presents."

"It's a little late but within the parameters." Katherine replied as they continued to walk through the hospital.

"The Internist sends her to a shrink, who sends her to another and she tells them all that she isn't crazy. The drugs don't work and why would they if she's not a head case? She got clearer when I took her off the psych medicine." They stopped in front of his office door. "You think I'm crazy."

Katherine looked around confused before saying. "Yeah, but that's not the problem. Didn't we just leave your office?"

"I like to walk." Spot re-entered his office to think more clearly about the problem.

* * *

Spot was pacing around the diagnostic office with his team watching him, they had been dragged back into work around midnight. "I have a headache. It's my only symptom. I go to see three doctors. The Neurologist tells me that I have an aneurysm. The Immunologist tells me that I have hay fever, the Intensvist can't be bothered and sends me to a shrink. Who tells me that I'm pushing myself because I want to sleep with mommy."

"Maybe you're not getting enough sleep." Albert groaned as he opened his eyes.

"Pick your specialist, you pick your disease. If it isn't schizophrenia then what other disease presents with psych symptoms?"

"Pomphyria." Blink lifted his head from the table.

Race looked at the Neurologist "The madness of King George III."

"What about that copper thing? It's genetic - the body accumulates too much copper."

"Wilson's Disease?"

Spot snapped his fingers together. "Very rare, I like it."

"If any of us did this then you'd fire us."

"That's funny. I thought I encouraged you to question-"

Albert glared at him. "You aren't questioning, you are hoping. You want it to be Wilson's, boom! Give her a couple of drugs and she's okay."

"July 17, an appointment with a Dr. Cain."

"She didn't keep it. She never kept another appointment with a shrink after it." Spot nodded at Romeo.

"Cain isn't a shrink. He's an ophthalmologist. Why would she want her eyes checked?'

"Wilson's presents with cataracts. I think." Romeo wasn't sure about it.

"Yes, it does. It also causes slight cirrhosis. Which Race attributes to alcohol." Spot looked at them all. "What are we all doing here?"

* * *

Spot and Katherine watched as the mother and son duo left the hospital. "You ok?"

"You were right. It wasn't the DVT, it was the schizophrenia." Spot finally replied.

"I know."

"She really isn't as interesting anymore."

"Isn't your birthday around now?" Spot closed his eyes and tried to not wince at all. He knew that Katherine would have remembered.


	7. Fidelity

"She's been averaging 18 hours of sleep a day since her admission." Romeo told Spot, who was staring down at the lobby. Spot had told them about what had happened with the rest of the team and he had to say that he was happy for Mush getting his own team.

"Clinical depression. Incredibly contagious. Every time I'm around one of them I get blue."

"It's not clinical depression."

"You've got it all figured out so you don't need me." Spot turned to walk away but Romeo pushed on.

"Three ER doctors, two Neurologists, and a Radiologist have all figured out what it is not. We need to figure out what it is."

"If the above mentioned doctors were interested then they would have asked for it." They started walking to the diagnostic office.

"None of them are willing to subject themselves to you."

Spot just inclined his head as they entered the elevator. "No pain, no gain."

"The blood work showed no signs of inflammation, and no one can figure out what's actually the cause-"

"Huh."

"What?" Romeo asked he was quite confused with why Spot was refusing to take the case.

"Husband describes her as being unusually irritable recently."

"And?"

"When is it 'unusual' for a woman to be irritable?" Spot tapped his cane on the floor as he exited the elevator.

"Nice try, but you're a misanthrope not a misogynist." Romeo called after him as he caught up to his boss.

"What's the first thing you ask a doctor whose referring to the patient?"

"Are you questioning my ability to take a history?" Spot just looked at him. "What's the primary-"

"Not 'what' but 'why'."

"Diseases don't have motives."

"No, but doctors do. Why does this patient interest you? Give me the chart."

"Why?" Romeo handed over the chart anyway.

"I'm interested in why you're interested." Spot pushed open the door to the diagnostic office as he read through the chart as he sat down at the table. "She's irritable, sleeping 18 hours a day."

"What's interesting about that? Hypersomnia is usually accompanied by irritability in depressed patients." Albert didn't even look up from his issue of Forbes, he was reading an article about the new investment bank, Cortes & Morris that had been set up a few years ago but was becoming one of the biggest.

"True, but not relevant. She's not depressed."

"Hello! She's sleeping 18 hours a day."

"Fever. Clinical depression doesn't cause fever." Race always found this part of the case entertaining as Albert and Spot disagreed on everything to do with a patient.

"She could be sick and depressed?" Albert still didn't look up from the magazine but was still fighting his boss.

"She's sick!" Spot slapped a hand to his forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"That isn't-"

"Elevated SED rate indicates inflammation." Blink pointed out when he entered the office with a box of donuts.

"Hypersomnia and personality change indialcates the brain."

"Not the spleen. Thank God we hired two Neurologists." Spot turned around from writing on the white board. "Brain symptoms...could it be a brain problem?"

"No other symptoms of inflammation, probably not vasculitus." Romeo noticed that the magazine that Albert was reading had a picture of Michael Bloomberg on the front. He never actually knew that Albert read Forbes but then he realised that Albert must have always read it at home.

"What about parasites? Malaria, chagas?" Race asked quickly.

"Patient's never been outside the United States, especially not the tropics."

"You mean she claims that she's never been outside the US."

"Very good." Spot smiled as his oldest employee took the words out of his mouth.

"Doesn't matter, blood and c-sub smears show no signs of parasites." Romeo was adamant that it wasn't a parasite.

"Has to be a tumour then." Blink wondered why Romeo was saying that it wasn't a parasite.

"A tumour siting directly on top of the brain stem? That three ER doctors, two Neurologists and a Radiologist missed?"

"Partridge in a pear tree missed it too. Redo the bloo work and get a new MRI with 2 millimetre cuts through the mesodiencephalic." Spot started leaving the office but called back. "And check for evil stepmothers. This much sleep normally means poisoned apples."

* * *

"Anything else besides the shortness of breath?" Spot asked as he finished examining a woman.

"Not really, it actually just kind of a tightness." The woman smiled charmingly at him.

Spot had to stop himself from groaning, she was one of those patients. One of those who were attracted to him and wanted to ask him out. "You smoke?"

"No."

"Exercise?"

"About eight hours a day." Spot looked at her with confusion. "I teach high school."

"Sounds fun. Any history of heart disease in your family?"

"None more than usual."

"You're probably a little bit anemic, but I'm going to do an EKG anyway."

The woman indicated her top. "Do I need to take this off?"

"You can just pull that down in front." Spot realised his mistake immediately but still turned around with the equipment ready, he noticed that she was well-endowed. "Are those actually real?"

"Yeah, they are. Do they look real?" She leered at him.

"No they look like the devil has eaten them."

"They were a present for my husband's fortieth birthday. I figured that he'd enjoy them." The woman ignored Spot's comment.

"That's so sweet. I am afraid though that your problem is staring me in the face and I'll have to consult a colleague about it." Spot removed a phone from the wall. "Can I get a page for Dr. De la Guerra?"

* * *

"The MRI reveals nothing." Katherine pointed out, Spot had pulled her into consulting for the case.

"That we were able to detect." Albert had finally put his magazine down and was jumping head first into the case.

"It's not a tumour."

"A small giloma could hide from contrast. We could do a PET scan." Blink suggested quietly.

"A giloma not presenting on a contrats MRI would have to be smaller than a grain of sand, which does not make a person gravely ill." Spot swallowed two pills before turning around from the board.

"It could just be postictal disorientation." Race looked up from the chart.

"We would have seen an improvement by now." Romeo looked at the Italian, who smiled at him.

"Late stage Lyme Disease can cause seizures."

"Does the husband care about her?" Spot suddenly asked.

"He hasn't left her bedside." Blink wasn't sure how that was important.

"Okay. That means she doesn't have Lyme Disease." Spot wrote 'Lyme Disease' on the board before crossing it out.

"What? Love conquers all?"

"Lyme Disease initially presents with a rash. Mr. Clingy would have noticed."

"We've looked at everything."

Katherine turned to Albert. "Did you look at her breasts?"

"Men."

"It could be paraneoplastic."

"Does she have any family history of breast cancer?"

"Her mother died of it." Romeo whispered after looking through a file.

Spot turned to Albert. "The brain but not the brain. Clever, huh?"

* * *

"No tumour?"

"The MRI and mammogram only showed a bengin calcifications." Albert handed the results to Spot, who took them and started inspecting them.

"It's most likely a small cell tumour, it's no surprise that we are having trouble finding it. We should do a PET scan. Start with her lungs, and maybe her bones...Sometimes it presents with no tumour at all." Katherine explained as she removed her glasses after examining the results.

"How can a disease that is caused by a tumour present if there is no tumour?" Race wasn't sure that was technically possible as there had to be a tumour even if it was a tiny.

"It happens. Twelve percent of all cases."

"And how do you treat it if there is no tumour?"

Spot started twirling his cane as he replied. "You don't. Those twelve percent, no treatment. They were too busy looking for the tumour, right 'till they put the patient in the ground."

"What choice do we have?" Blink was wondering how they would be able to treat it if it was a tumour they couldn't find.

"Treat the symptoms. IV Immunologobulin."

"So we're just going to ignore the tumour?" Albert couldn't believe that Spot would actually suggest that.

"Eventually it'll get bigger. Then it'll be easier to find. One of you needs to check out where she works."

"Why?" Race asked as he leaned forward.

"Cause the husband isn't sick."

"Meaning?"

Katherine began to explain. "If it was paraneoplastic and it is a reaction to some sort of toxin, then it's obviously not coming from the home."

"Albert, you do it."

Albert looked towards his boss with a confused expression. "Why me?"

"You're the best one for the job."

Albert just sighed before making his way our of the office to get the address for where the patient worked.

* * *

"How long has Ellie worked here?" Albert asked the chef, who was the manager of the restaurant.

"Three years, she's one of my best rotisseurs." The chef answered as he looked around the kitchen.

"That is?"

"The rotisseur serves roasted meats and gravies."

"How do you clean your grill?"

"Elbow grease."

Albert sighed and gritted his teeth as it appeared that nothing in the restaurant had caused the illness. "Do you use chemical cleaners?"

"Absolutely no, our chefs don't do the cleaning, anyway."

"What about pesticides? You must spray for roaches and that sort of thing?"

"My kitchen is clean. No roaches." The chef hesitated before continuing. "Look, I have to get back to work."

"And the fact that I'm here asking these questions , doesn't bother you?" Albert wasn't sure if the chef was hiding something.

"I'm here 18 hours a day. That guy practically lives here...he does live here." The chef pointed at one of his assistants. "I have used the same detergents for the past 15 years, and everyone is as healthy as a horse. Whatever Eliie has she didn't get here. Tell her I hope her she gets better and that I don't want to hire a new rotisseur."

Albert turned around and noticed that there was a rabbit on a cutting board.

* * *

"We had to sedate her." Blink explained as he and Spot made their way to the diagnostic office.

"You gave sedatives to a patient who is already sleeping 18 hours a day?" Spot's eyebrows had receded into his hairline.

"It was better then letting her scratch her skin off her arms."

"Where's Plumber?" The two entered the office where Katherine was looking at the file of the patient.

"Creepy-crawlies are consistent with paraneoplastic syndrome." Katherine answered without looking up from the file. Race and Romeo looked towards her with confused expressions.

"Onset immediately after IVIG isn't though." Romeo replied as he looked towards Spot.

"There is a simple explanation. Maybe she really has bugs under her skin." Spot wrote 'hallucinations' on the board underneath the rest of the symptoms.

"Infection?" Race suggested.

"That's what the worsening of symptoms after immunotherapy would suggest."

"Blood culture and the timeline rule out bacteria." Albert drank from his cup before replying.

"If a patient throws up on your shoes do you clean 'most' of it?"

"The symptoms rule out the rest. Serology rules out viruses, CSS smears rule out parasites."

"In the final stage of African Trypanosomiasis almost all the parasites are inside the brain." Spot pointed out to Albert. "It's possible they wouldn't show on smears."

"But it's not possible for a patient who's never been to Africa to have African Sleeping Sickness."

"I'm just saying it fits the symptoms."

Katherine replied. "She could have got it from a transfusion."

"Or I'm just saying she could have got it from w transfusion." Spot repeated Katherine's point to a smile from her.

"Which she never had."

Spot glared at Romeo. "Okay-"

"What about toxins?" Katherine looked at Albert.

"The kitchen she works in is cleaner than some hospitals. But they do serve rabbit, Rabbit Fever fits her symptoms."

"Tularemia initially presents with a rash or ulcer near the infection site." Race said to a nod from Spit who wrote 'Tularemia' on the board.

"Not if she inhaled it. Chopping the meat with a cleaver could easily aerosolize the bacteria." Blink disagreed with him almost immediately.

"No then she'd have respiratory symptoms."

"Maybe she ignored it and thought that she had a cold."

"We rejected Lyme Disease because the couple would have noticed a rash, but a big, hacking cough just slipped by?" Spot shook his head in disbelief.

"It's either that or she missed her exit on the turnpike and wound up in Africa." Albert looked back down at the file.

"Two lousy ideas. Unfortunately, they are better than the others. Tularemia. Bizarre. Very nice. That's why I ride you." Spot entered his office before sitting down and turning the TV on.

Blink stared in disbelief at his boss. "Did he just turn on the TV."

"He needs to think." Katherine said as if it was obvious.

* * *

"So this will tell us if she has Rabbit Fever or not?" Romeo asked as he watched Race and Blink start using the equipment in the lab.

"For a diagnosis of Tularemia, you need a four-fold increase in serum antibody levels. To measure an increase you need a before, all we have is an after." Blink looked up from the equipment he was using.

"A single titer over 160 would be a big clue."

Albert sighed as he reappeared from going to the cafeteria. "That's why I ride you'. What does that even more? Even when it's a good idea it's because of him?"

"I think that he said tour idea was lousy." Race tried to hide his smirk but failed.

"It has to be one of these two conditions. I say that we take our best guess and start treatment." Romeo noticed that Blink was ignoring the other two like he had sat through their arguing before.

"The treatment for Tularemia can cause aplastic anemia."

"How come he doesn't ride you guys?"

"He's got a crush on you. He just doesn't know how to show it."

Albert shot back quickly. "I would have thought he would prefer you."

Romeo's eyes shot to Blink, who had slammed his head onto the table in front of him. "Get over it. He rides everyone."

'And the treatment for sleeping sickness kills one in ten patients."

"So we start with the safer treatment."

Blink finally turned around to look at the others. "By 'safer' you mean the one that's less likely to kill her?"

* * *

Spot finally turned the TV off as Katherine entered his office. "Albert and the others doing tests in the lab?"

"Yes."

"Most likely inconclusive, but it's worth it." Spot focused on Katherine before asking. "Who is she? When do I got meet her?"

Katherine raised her eyebrows. "I have no clue about what you are talking about."

"Your lips say no, your shoes say yes."

"They're French, you can't trust anything they say." Katherine wondered if Spot was just bluffing or if her shoes actually told him something.

"Solid, yet stylish. A professional woman would be impressed, I'm thinking a lawyer or accountant. Maybe it's someone in the hospital. Patient? No chemo is not sexy. Daughter of the patient? She would have the neediness you need."

"I'm not going to date a patient's daughter."

Spot shrugged as he swallowed two pills. "Very ethical. A married woman wouldn't date at all."

"There was no date!" Spot glared at her. "I had lunch with Sarah, happy now?" Katherine turned around and stormed out as JoJo entered the office.

"You remember, Mrs. Henderson?" Spot shook his head. "The high school teacher with the heart of silicon."

"Oh, yeah."

JoJo knew why Spot didn't want to deal with her again and he couldn't blame him. "I figured that you should she her test results."

Spot looked at the results before looking at JoJo and asking. "You check her EKG results before she left?"

"You ordered it. But I don't see anything wrong with them."

"She here?"

"Downstairs. Why?" JoJo was confused about why Spot was aking thise questions.

"I was right." Spot hobbled out off the office with JoJo following him.

* * *

"Do I have to get rid of the implants?"

"Surprisingly, no." JoJo began. "But your EKG shows a slightly decreased heart rate."

"Is that a problem?" Mrs. Henderson asked quietly.

'You told me you hadn't changed your diet or exercise, were you lying?" Spot leaned forward on his cane.

"Lying?"

"Does your husband have high blood pressure?"

"My husband?"

"If you're going to repeat everything that I say then this conversation will take twice as long."

"He was diagnosed seven months ago."

JoJo had to stop himself from groaning when he realised that Spot was right. "He do lot of cooking at home?"

"Just oatmeal in the morning."

"Did you happen to notice a slightly odd taste to the oatmeal recently?" Spot knew that the husband had been poisoning her.

"Are you saying that-"

"That it looks like your husband stirred in some of his blood pressure medication with brown sugar."

"You think that may husband is trying to poison me?" Mrs. Henderson asked in outrage.

"No, nothing like that. It's because he doesn't want to have sex with you." Both JoJo and Mrs. Henderson all turned to look at Spot with incredulity. "Decreased sex drive is one of the most common side effects of the beta blocker he's using. I'm thinking that he guessed that if you were both frigid then no harm, no foul. You should have gotten him the sweater."

"That's ridiculous."

"If you're still concerned about your shortness of breath then I suggest that you should make your own breakfast now." Spot opened the door and started to leave the room.

"What should I do?"

"If you care about your husband at all, then I suggest that you buy yourself some condoms and go to a bar..." Spot trailed off as he realised something then he set off out of the room.

* * *

Albert was looking at a paper that had test results on it when Spot entered the lab. "Lab tests inconclusive?"

"Not surprisingly."

"No. Too bad, I have the answer."

"To what?"

"Thanks for asking." Spot smiled at Race. "The life itself. Sex. Anything that can be transmitted through the blood can be transmitted through sex."

"Sleeping sickness from sex?" Albert wasn't sure if that was possible or if it had happened before.

"It isn't without precedent."

"I'm pretty sure it is. Unless you're talking about going to Africa and having sex with the tse tse fly."

"A Portuguese man was diagnosed , three years ago, with CNS affected sleeping sickness. The only connection he had with Africa was his girlfriend, who served under the military in Angol."

"Where did you find that?" Race asked after Spot had finished explaining.

"Portugese medical journal." Spot waved his hand. "You don't read Portuguese?"

"You do?" Romeo was surprised that Spot did read foreign medical journal.

"I'm pretty sure it said that or it was an ad for sunglasses."

Romeo pointed out. "The husband hasn't been to Africa either."

"Stymied again. Your logic is bulletproof." Spot sighed. He had thought that Romeo would have learned by now.

"I think ignoring respiratory symptoms is more likely then cheating."

"Because?"

"They are completely devoted to each other."

"Because?"

"They love each other."

"Or?"

"They are over compensating for guilt." Race sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

Spot turned to Romeo. "Find out which one it is."

"You want me to ask a man whose wife is about to die if she cheated on him?"

"No I want you to be polite and let her die." Spot growled before turning to Albert and Race. "Race take the wife, Albert take the husband."

Spot walked out of the lab but Romeo caught up to him and hissed. "You don't trust me to do my job?"

"We all formulate questions based on answers we want to hear."

"And how exactly do you re-formulate 'have you screwed around'?"

"Did you know that she's been trying to get pregnant?"

"Yes." Romeo had known about that since he had checked the medical history.

"After you got so freaked out over the sick babies a while ago, I figured that was your thing. But you've never been prescribed folic acid, and you can't lose a baby if didn't have a partner who was pregnant." Spot had changed his theory after discovering that.

"You pulled my medical records?"

"You coughed the other day, I was concerned about you."

"You were curious. Like an eight year old boy with a puzzle that's a little too grown up for him." Spot watched as Romeo walked down the corridor.

* * *

"There's only one way that a patient with Tularemia goes into a coma while on IV-IV-Chloramphenicol." Spot said as he and his team walked down the corridor that led to the patient's room.

"She doesn't have Tularemia." Blink answered after reading through the file.

"And then there was one. Patient comes in because she's sleeping too much. It takes ten doctors and a coma to diagnose sleeping sickness."

Albert rubbed his eyes. "And then there was none. We still have the problem of explaining how a white chick from New York, who's never traveled south of D.C has got African sleeping sickness."

"The obvious explanation?"

"I made it clear. If the guy's lying about sleeping around then he knows that's murdering his wife."

"Doesn't seem unlikely." Spot entered the room and lifted the woman's arm up and then he dropped it.

The husband appeared out of nowhere. "What are you doing?"

"Checking for lymphedenopathy. And waiting for you."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Dr. Conlon. Your wife has human African Trypanosomiasis." The husband looked confused. "Sleeping sickness."

"You mean it's not Tularemia, a virus, tumour, or cancer."

"Nope."

"I've never had an affair."

"And I believe you."

"And I trust Ellie."

Spot looked towards the husband. "The treatment for this is a drug that's...fatal on its own ten percent of the time." The husband looked scared. "That is why I need your written consent before I can legally prescribe it."

"Why would she lie if she knew that it could kill her?"

"I don't ask why patients lie, I just assume that they all do."

"But why?"

"To protect you, because she didn't think that it mattered. It just seemed easier...because that's what people do. If you're absolutely certain that your wife has had sex with anyone since you were married, then I'm wrong. But it there's a possibility that for just one time she wasn't perfect...one weekend you were out of town...one fight when she ran to a friend, one Christmas party. Then you need to allow me to start treatment...because if we don't then she will be dead by the morning." Spot paused for a few minutes before continuing. "Do you trust your wife that much?"

The husband whispered. "I don't know."

"I'll start the treatment." Spot walked out of the room and nodded at the team.

* * *

"How long before we know it works?" The husband asked Romeo, who was examining the patient.

"It's tough to say for certain. It is a good sign that she hasn't got any worse."

"Does she know that I'm here?"

Romeo nodded softly before continuing. "She knows that you're always there for her."

"If she gets better then it means that she wasn't there for me."

"It means she made a mistake."

"I can't help it. A big part of me can't handle that...doesn't want her to get better." Romeo started heading for the door. "Does that make me a terrible person?"

"Yes." Romeo left the room before he could say anything else.

* * *

"Her fever spiled at 105. Echo shows global hyperkinesis." Race explained as he led Spot into the room.

"Blood pressur?"

"Barely 90 over 40."

"You gave her dopamine?"

"Started 270 micrograms per minute ten minutes ago. Still no change." Spot looked towards Blink hopefully, but he shook his head without saying anything. "Killing her parasites isn't going to do much good if we kill her heart as well."

"A heart can be replaced, a brain can't." Albert replied as he moved back from the bed.

"Right now we are killing both." Race turned to Spot. "If she's going to die then we should do it without that acid flowing through her veins."

The husband entered behind them as he demanded. "What's happening?"

"We would have expected your wife's condition to have improved by now but it's gone the other way." Spot answered quietly.

The husband took her hand and started whispering things that the team couldn't hear. The heart rate started to increase and her hand moved. "She's awake!"

* * *

Spot smiled as he realised that the drug had worked and she had survived.


End file.
